The incredible story of Portugal's Euro 2016 winner

The 28-year-old spoke to the 'Daily Mail' about his winning goal in the Euro 2016 final, but also spoke about hard times off the field, revealing that his father is in prison for murder and that he contemplated ending his own life.

The striker relived his goal again, saying "I received it on the half-turn.

"I jinked away from Koscielny and found some space to shoot. Then I just let fly. And how it flew! I hit it so hard and when the ball smashed into the net I was so happy. It was huge for me, huge for us, huge for the country".

However, Eder then started to talk about his life off the field as things turned more serious. The Portuguese striker said that he grew up in an orphanage.

"Yeah - very difficult. I was in an orphanage without my parents," he said.

"Things can go badly in those places. I look at where some of my friends are now and... yeah, they’re not very well.

"I had two or three mentors but it’s not the same as your mum and dad. I had little contact with my parents. I was resentful".

The Lille player's father was found guilty of murder in 2003 in relation to the death of his stepmother.

"I was 12 and in an orphanage,’ Eder said. "My stepmother died, they accused my father and he’s in prison. 

"I wasn’t there and obviously I can’t say for certain what happened. But my dad says he is innocent. Then, it becomes a question that requires a lot of soul-searching.

"He’s my dad and I believe him. I am not stating that the court did anything wrong but he’s my father. He’s still in jail in England. I’ve visited him.

"I started to visit him when I was 22 and when I have time, I see him". 

Before starring at Euo 2016, Eder went to the World Cup with Portugal but did not perform to the best of his abilities and received a lot of criticism on social media.

Eder found it tough and he admitted that he considered taking his own life. When asked whether he considered suicide, he said: "Yeah...

"My mind went to some very bad places. I went through a very low phase. I had suffered some bad injuries and went to the World Cup and things didn’t go well. 

"It was hard. I struggled to believe in things and dream again. It was a really horrible period for me and you wonder whether you can escape it".