The Brazilian defender Emerson, who Barcelona and Betis share, spoke in 'ABC' about his hard beginnings in a Brazilian favela and recognised that his great dream is to be able to play with Neymar, something that he could not do when he was called up by Brazil.
Great things are expected of Emerson in the footballing world. Barcelona and Betis bet on him in equal parts and, for the moment, he has played for Betis during his time in Spain.
The full-back, however, has not always had the wind in his sails. In an interview with 'ABC', he recalled his difficult beginnings in the favela.
"At first I lived in the favela. When I was ten or so, we went somewhere else because the favela was very dangerous. We always had police fighting with the drug dealers. We left because something could have happened to us. When I left, I started playing football and my family helped me a lot," he explained.
Emerson acknowledged that he was involved with his country's most disadvantaged people during the worst moments of COVID-19: "At Christmas I threw a party for the children of the favela and in the pandemic I bought a lot of food for them. I have lived there and I know that people are in great need. I feel very sorry for them because I see the need for children who are 7 or 8 years old on the streets and some of them doing bad things".
The Betis player concluded by confessing that he admires Kimmich and Alexander-Arnold and that he longs to play alongside Neymar: "On one occasion, I was called up by the Brazilian national team and he was injured. It was a pity. One of my wishes is to play with him. His was the only shirt I wore as a child".