Sevilla rebel Alves refuses to travel to Greece

 This was the news given by Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido at Seville airport on Monday, when asked about the absence of Alves.

 "The player (Alves) has refused to travel with the club which pays him, and I am making this public knowledge so that everyone knows what kind of a professional we are talking about."

   Alves did not play in the first leg - which Sevilla won 2-0 without him - as he had asked the club not to play him in the qualifiers so as not to be ineligible to play for another club in this season's Champions League.

 But he was in the squad list put out by coach Juande Ramos on Sunday for the return leg in Athens.

 The Brazilian right-back has been keen to leave Sevilla for months now, and publicly attacked Del Nido last week for apparently turning down a 35-million-euro (47.88-million-dollar) offer for him from Chelsea.

 Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are, according to press reports, considering making an offer for Alves this week.

 Alves did not play in Saturday's 4-1 thrashing of Getafe, in which left-back Antonio Puerta suffered a heart attack.

 Puerta is still in the intensive care unit of Seville's Virgen del Rocio hospital, on a life support machine.

 Del Nido said on Sunday night that Puerta had undergone "a slight improvement," but remained in a "very serious" condition.

DPA