Alexandre Pato stood out in soccer and it was believed that he would be one of the great soccer players in the world, but the Brazilian did not respond to expectations.
Pato is 32 years old and played in big teams like Corinthians, Sao Paulo, International, AC Milan, Chelsea, Villarreal and Tianjin Quanjian.
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The Brazilian spoke to ‘The Players Tribune’ and told intimacies of his local life, which today is very different.
injuries. “I lost confidence due to injuries in 2010. I went into training thinking I couldn’t get injured. If I got hurt, I didn’t tell anyone. I was recovering from a muscle problem, then I sprained my ankle and kept playing. The ankle was swollen like a ball, but he didn’t want to let the team down. I wanted to please everyone. That was one of my flaws. People expected him to score 30 goals a season, but he couldn’t even get on the pitch.”
‘Bionic arm’. “Before arriving at Internacional, the doctor did an X-ray and found a large tumor and He told me that I had to have surgery or they would have to amputate my left arm. He told me not to worry, that the surgery would be at his expense. I will never forget that name: Paulo Roberto Mussi. He gave me a new life.”
Much pain. “The recovery was so painful, man. The bone bank didn’t have the bone my arm needed, so they had to take one out of my hip. He also had to return every six months to the Pato Branco hospital for check-ups. Once my arm had turned green. I was screaming More injections please!!”. Luckily, I was able to play again. That’s when I was accepted by Internacional”.
the motel. “In the test with Internacional we stayed in a motel, I didn’t know, but that’s how it was. I was too young to understand. I think our room had a small bed, that was it. The hotel was opposite the Beira-Rio... People had sex while looking at the Internacional stadium.”
Personal protection
With bodyguards. “The Corinthians fans wanted to kill me… It was terrifying. He was traveling around the city with armed bodyguards and an armored car with tear gas canisters. The fans who stormed our training camp had bats and knives.”
The drugs. “I was still single, so I decided to enjoy my freedom. I went to Los Angeles. He wanted the best hotel, the best car, the best parties. I ended up at this place where a girl was snorting cocaine next to me. Suddenly I was like, what am I doing here? This was not what I wanted. It was an empty world. I asked a friend, “Am I really going to spend the rest of my life alone?”
Recovery. “I started to focus on mental health and relationships. I saw a therapist. I learned to find happiness in hard work. I was still having fun, but I was treating football like a job, you know? I took responsibility for all aspects of my career. In Milan he had spent the first year without speaking Italian. In China I learned about food and culture right away. He was even serving rice and noodles in my apartment.”
The player. “Maybe I didn’t become the best player in the world. But, brother, let me tell you something. I have an amazing relationship with my family. I’m in peace with myself. I have a wife (Rebeca) whom I love. In my opinion, I have many Ballon d’Ors. If life is a game, I have won”.
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