Middlesbrough made huge £50k-a-week mistake that supporters will want to forget: View | OneFootball

During their years in the Premier League, Middlesbrough have been blessed with some of the best attacking talent to play for the club in recent years.

Hamilton Ricard, Juninho Paulista, Mark Viduka, Yakubu and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink just to name a few, but there have been many strikers who have failed to live up to their expectations on Teesside, none more so than Alfonso Alves.

At the time of the Brazilian's arrival at the Riverside Stadium, Boro had smashed their transfer record for a player who had become one of the most feared attackers in the Eredivisie, but that threat soon shrivelled out as he was welcomed to England's top flight.

Having started his professional career in his home nation of Brazil with Atletico Minero, Alves would make the switch to Europe in 2004, perfecting his craft in Sweden with Malmö before completing a transfer to Heerenveen, a fee that remains a record to this day.

And it did not take long for Alves to equip himself for life in the Netherlands, slamming home 37 goals in 40 appearances, along with three assists in all competitions, putting himself among elite company as he finished as the Eredivisie's top scorer. He would become only the third Brazilian to do so, alongside former PSV Eindhoven stars, Ronaldo and Romario.

Alves' scoring in his maiden season showed no signs of letting up, scoring seven goals in a rather one-sided 9-0 victory over Heracles Almelo, which is, again, another record that still stands to this day.

His eventual departure to the Premier League was surrounded with controversy after he did not show up at several training sessions while still under contract at Heerenveen, which would be something that would reoccur during his time at Middlesbrough.

Alves would sign for the club midway through the 2007/08 season, bolstering Gareth Southgate's attacking options having signed Mido and Jeremie Aliadiere during the summer window.

He would have to wait for his first league goal in his sixth appearance for the club, but there was arguably no better way to announce yourself to the Premier League than scoring twice against Manchester United, helping Boro secure a draw against Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

A strike against Sunderland would come two games later, before rounding off the season in fine fashion, this time haunting the blue side of Manchester as he scored a hat-trick against the Citizens in an 8-1 victory - a match that is still fondly remembered by Boro supporters.

But his second season failed to live up to the potential he had shown in his maiden term on Teesside. Alves would score seven goals in all competitions, despite showing his brilliance with a free-kick against Stoke City early on in the season, but at times looked unbothered and often left Middlesbrough fans frustrated by his lack of efforts.

The club would finish 19th in the 2008/09 season and were relegated to the Championship.

Following their relegation to the second tier, Middlesbrough needed to offload some of their top earners to deal with the financial strain of relegation, with Alves targeted as a key man to help aid that process.

However, it proved more difficult than first thought, not helped by the unprofessional actions of the Brazilian.

Believed to be earning £50,000 per week, he was Boro's top earner and, despite paying a reported £12.7 million for his services two seasons ago, his stock had plummeted.

Middlesbrough's attempts in selling him were halted due to his high wages, which ultimately stopped a return to the Eredivisie with Ajax, with Alves keen to remain in Europe.

Southgate was not helped by the Brazilian failing to report for pre-season training ahead of the new season, but finally succeeded in offloading the striker to Qatari side, Al-Sadd, for a reported fee of £6 million, recouping some of the money they had invested.

It was a bitter end for a player who arrived on Teesside with so much promise, but ultimately failed to deliver for Middlesbrough. While he will be remembered for his contribution to their humiliation of last season's treble winners, Manchester City, don't expect Alves' name to ring around the Riverside Stadium terraces.