Alves left Rangers in the summer after talks with Steven Gerrard.
Bruno Alves has continued his excellent return to Italy with newly-promoted Serie A side Parma by opening his account with a crucial goal – his first since leaving Rangers.
The 36-year-old left Rangers in the summer after failing to impress at Ibrox. He failed to live up to the hype that surrounded his name, after winning Euro 2016 with Portugal just a year before his Scotland adventure.
Signing a two-year deal at Ibrox, the 96-time Portugal international was released just one year into that deal by Steven Gerrard after the Liverpool legend had sit-down talks with Alves over his future.
Since his release, Alves has joined Parma where has become the club’s captain. He has played every single minute of Parma’s 13 Serie A matches, and scored the winner in a 2-1 win over Sassuolo on Sunday.
Alves was one of 25 players to leave Rangers in the summer – 10 of which were permanent. He joined fellow Caixinha signings Fabio Cardoso, Eduardo Herrera and Carlos Pena to leave – the latter two only being loaned out.
Former Arsenal winger Gervinho had given Parma the lead before Alves doubled the advantage with the close-range tap in. Sassuolo got one back through Khouma Babacar, but it was not enough.
Parma and Alves continue to defy pre-season expectations of a relegation battle, as they sit in a lofty sixth position in Serie A. Alves has gone from being released by Rangers, to captaining a top-six Serie A outfit.
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