Alves departs Sevilla with heavy heart

Learning curve
"I arrived here as a child and I am leaving as a man and as a father," Brazilian international Alves told a news conference in Seville. "It hurts a lot. I just want to say thanks for everything the team have given me. What I've been through here would have been impossible to experience anywhere else." Those experiences included winning two UEFA Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, one Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup, yet his impending move to Barcelona has hardly been a closely-kept secret. The 25-year-old right-sided player will link up with Josep Guardiola's side subject to a medical, making the switch just weeks after midfielder Seydou Keita also swapped Andalusia for Catalonia. In total, Alves made 175 Primera División appearances for Sevilla. Gerard Piqué and Martín Cáceres have also arrived at Camp Nou this summer.