At just 15 years old, Robert Goncalves became one of the great hopes of Brazilian football. Due to his play, his eternal smile and his abilities, they compared him immediately with Neymar. Robert wears the No 10 and was the talk of the inferior categories at Fluminense.
In 2011, Robert gave an interview to the media, a few months before he signed his first professional contract.
“Neymar is the great idol of Brazilian football,” he said.
“And a model for me, too. I will surely not become like him, but I would like to be better. Everyone says we are similar.
“The girls always say that to me, but I’m better looking,” he joked, to Globoesporte.
Here are some other quotes from the interview:
Being important in Brazil: “It’s not important for me what the other clubs do. I want to stay in Brazil and make a career with Fluminense, a club that has always supported me. Everyone I know that has gone early to Europe has wanted to come back. They can fall a lot and causes them to lose what they could achieve in their own country.”
Idol: “Since I was little I always liked to watch Ronaldinho.”
Humble beginnings: “I never had what I wanted when I was younger. We didn’t have a car or anything. My dad couldn’t even buy me a pair of boots. I saw other boys and thought “when could I have some like that?”. It was tough, but my dad always said: “You will have everything you want, you only have to trust in the man upstairs [God].” And thanks to God the years passed and everything improved.”