But Alves is by no means the first, nor the last, to fall short in the Premier League and yet still reach the pinnacle of the sport in another country.
Upon his departure from east London in January 2022, he has spent the last three-and-a-half years at eleven-time Danish champions Brøndby IF, who are open in their desire to win titles and play in European football.
For Alves, that meant proving himself all over again - a process he is familiar with, having overcome trials at Brazilian Coritiba and Silkeborg IF - and he’s made 75 appearances for Brøndby, who are currently second in the 2025/26 Danish Superliga table.
During his time with Brøndby*,* he became best friends with our new No1, Mads Hermansen, having initially met at Denmark’s U21 camps.
He’s become a fundamental part of Frederik Birk’s team and now has another way of measuring priorities, too, as the Dane and his wife, Linea Alves Thidemann, recently announced the birth of their daughter, Etta.
“She’s doing really well, her Mum’s doing great,” smiled Alves. “She was born on a matchday, of course, but I still went to the game, and it was a very, very good day because nothing went wrong.
“It was all smooth, and we won the game 1-0 at FC Nordsjælland, which was an important result for us.
“For me, they (Brøndby) are the biggest club in Denmark.
“I learnt during my time at West Ham that I needed to have some playing time to develop, so moving to Brøndby was one hundred per cent the best choice I've made in my life, football-wise.
"I'm not the same player as when I left West Ham as I am now. I'm totally different, just more mature, and I've developed, and even though I had a great time at West Ham, I’ve also had a magical time at Brøndby so far, and it was the right choice for me.
“I knew Mads (Hermansen) before I came to Brøndby because we were on a U21s duty together with Denmark, and that’s where our friendship just started, and when I came to Brøndby, it got stronger, and we’re now best friends.
“I only have positive things to say about Mads.
“He's a very passionate lad. He's very professional also. He's just a very, very good guy off the pitch, and I just think that West Ham is privileged to have such a guy in the squad.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the Club will benefit from him and also the other way around.
“He has so much talent and is still young, so I think he has much more to offer.
“I want to say to you guys on behalf of Brøndby that you should take good care of both Mads and Casper [Ankergren] because you just have a goalkeeper and coach that have a special connection, and I could see from my first day here that they work very well together.”