[4] Alves was born in Póvoa de Varzim, and grew up in the Caxinas fishing neighbourhood of bordering Vila do Conde, as did his long-time international teammates Hélder Postiga and Fábio Coentrão.

[7] After three consecutive loans, two in Portugal[8] and another in Greece with AEK Athens FC,[9] Alves returned Porto for the 2005–06 season, extending his contract until 2010[10] and battling for a first-team spot with Ricardo Costa and João Paulo.

On 7 April 2009, Alves' early mistake in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford led to Wayne Rooney's equaliser[13]– the match ended 2–2 and Porto went on to lose 3–2 on aggregate.

[14] On 3 August 2010, aged 28, Alves signed with Russian Premier League side FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for €22 million,[15] joining compatriots Danny and Fernando Meira in the squad.

On 18 October 2014, Alves was given a straight red card for kicking Blerim Džemaili, as his team eventually lost 2–1 to Galatasaray at the Türk Telekom Arena.

[23] He made his debut on 15 August 2016, in a 5–1 home win over SPAL in the Coppa Italia,[24] and scored his first goal on 11 September, which was a free-kick in a 2–1 league loss at Bologna FC 1909.

[37] On 4 September 2021, Alves signed a one-year deal at Apollon Smyrnis FC; aged nearly 40, he returned to the Greek top flight and the city of Athens for the first time in 16 years.

Luiz Felipe Scolari gave him his full international debut in June 2007 against Kuwait in a 1–1 away draw,[41][42] and he was later selected as a back-up for UEFA Euro 2008, appearing in the 2–0 group stage loss to Switzerland.

[43] A regular starter during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Alves headed the winner in injury time for the final 2–1 win in Albania on 6 June 2009,[44] allowing Portugal to reach the play-offs; there, in the first leg in Lisbon, he also found the net (the game's only goal) against Bosnia and Herzegovina,[45] in an eventual 2–0 aggregate qualification.

[46] Ten days after being included in Paulo Bento's final 23-men squad for the 2014 World Cup,[47] Alves scored a 93rd-minute winner in a 1–0 friendly win over Mexico for his tenth international goal,[48] also featuring in the tournament opener against Germany, a 4–0 defeat.

[50] In the penultimate warm-up game away to England on 2 June, he was sent off in the first half for a head-high tackle on Harry Kane;[51] he only made his debut in the tournament in the semi-finals against Wales due to injury to Pepe,[52] playing the full 90 minutes and being booked in a 2–0 victory at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.