He represented Atlético Mineiro, Örgryte, Malmö FF, Heerenveen, Middlesbrough, Al-Sadd, Al-Rayyan and Al-Gharafa during a career that spanned between 2001 and 2013.

In Summer 2006, he moved to the Dutch club SC Heerenveen of the Eredivisie for €4.5 million, which remains their highest-ever transfer fee paid.

Other than finishing first in the scorers table, he was runner-up in the race for the European Golden Boot, a single point behind Roma forward Francesco Totti.

Heerenveen's manager (Gertjan Verbeek) had already made three substitutions yet chose to take Alves off the pitch in the 89th minute to pay tribute to his fantastic performance.

[5] Despite his impressive track record, his departure was surrounded by some controversy after he did not show up at several training sessions, while still under contract at SC Heerenveen and some remarks he made, insinuating that teammates in the Brazil national team laughed at him for playing for such a small club.

However, Alves could not find steady form which led to his record move, and with a haul of just four league goals the season turned out to be a disappointing one for both him and Middlesbrough, who were relegated to the Championship.

[13] Alves shortly emerged as a fan favorite, however he suffered a ligament injury in his left knee in December which kept him out of action for eight months.

[18] On 1 June, in the game against England, Alves was brought on to replace Kaká after 71 minutes of play and very nearly scored after a Wes Brown slip.

He has a son, Felipe Henrique, who is a footballer at Atletico Mineiro's Tupinambas Academy, and lives with Alves' former girlfriend in Brazil.