Rangers manager Steven Gerrard got rid of Bruno Alves almost as soon as he arrived in the Scottish Premiership.
Bruno Alves is not used to failure.
The battle-scarred veteran centre-back has won trophies in Portugal, Turkey and Russia and became a European Champion on French soil in 2016.
That is without mentioning the 96 caps he has won for his country or the stellar performances he has produced since returning to Italy this summer, inspiring phoenix club Parma in their first season back in Serie A since being demoted to the regional leagues in 2014.
So there is a genuine argument to be made that Alves’ 2017/18 season at Ibrox represents the most disappointing spell of his career. Big things were expected when the 36-year-old arrived – but he was released after just 28 games despite having a year left on his contract.
Though there is one man at Ibrox who was left enthused by Alves’ impact. Speaking to Rangers TV, Daniel Candeias has chosen his all-time XI of current and former team-mates – and made Alves his skipper.
“Bruno Alves is my captain”, said fellow Iberian Candeias, who arrived in Glasgow alongside the defender in 2017.
“He is the animal in defence and a great friend, of course.”
Now, should Rangers have been a little more patient with the former Porto and Zenit ace? Steven Gerrard didn’t wait around to get rid of the high-earning veteran but his defence has looked slightly shaky of late with Joe Worrall struggling and Nikola Katic falling out of favour.
38-year-old Gareth McAuley, meanwhile, is even older than Alves and hasn’t played a game since arriving on a free from West Brom.
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