Afonso Alves wants a move to Middlesbrough to end the mickey-taking from his Brazil teammates.

The striker had to undergo almighty leg pulling from Brazil team-mates such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho, who took the mickey out of his Dutch club Heerenveen and his wages, even after Alves added a fictitious £200,000 a year.

"Playing in the Premier League will end the jibes," a friend told the Mail on Sunday.