It looks like Middlesbrough’s drawn out and complicated chase for Heerenveen’s Brazilian striker Afonso Alves has one more twist in it, with the Daily Mail claiming that Middlesbrough may have to shell out an extra 2million quid in compensation to AZ Alkmaar, the club which Alves had already signed a contract with. The Chairman of AZ said:
“We informed Middlesbrough that Alves had signed for us and the arbitrage decision had confirmed that and it was legally binding, but they didn’t contact us.
“This is now with FIFA and we’re confident they will come to the same conclusion.”
And AZ’s manager Louis Van Gaal seemed pretty disgusted:
“It’s totally unacceptable that Alves has signed a contract for Middlesbrough when he had signed one with us.
“It’s astonishing that someone can sign a legal contract and then go to another club. I’m disappointed that this can happen.”
So is Afonso Alves the equivalent of a polygamist, someone who bags two wives illegally – and is this really the type of player you want at your club?