Antony opens up on his traumatic upbringing in São Paulo’s favela

The 24-year-old has yet to make his mark at the Premier League club but is eager to prove his critics wrong this upcoming season. ‘’I demand a lot of myself and obviously I was not satisfied with my season. A lot happened over the year in my personal life. Like it or not, everything had an effect on the pitch.’’ 

Antony remains under investigation in Brazil and England as three women accused him of domestic abuse. The Brazilian has not been arrested or charged and denies the allegations, but has revealed that the investigation affected his form. 

Favela

The footballer also gave some insight into his childhood. ‘’It’s difficult for me to talk about my background,’’ said Antony. ‘’It’s not by chance I have the favela where I grew up tattooed across my back and always play with ‘favela’ written on my boots. The favela is always with me.’’

‘’I’ll never let anyone else write my story or let people put me down as I genuinely know what it’s like to be at the bottom,’’ said Antony. ‘’There were times when I didn’t have boots to play football in, times when there wasn’t enough to eat. I didn’t have a bedroom – I slept on the sofa in the living room. My house would flood when it rained heavily.’’ 

Antony has also seen a lot of his friends from the slums of São Paulo go down another path and some of them have lost their lives. Even though his parents, brother and sister don’t live in the favela anymore, he still pays a visit whenever he’s on holiday in his home country. ‘’It renews my energy, reminds me where I come from and everything I went through to get here. I always get emotional talking about the favela because it’s somewhere I learned so much through adversity. We had nothing, just our faith in God and determination.’’ 

‘’A lot of people don’t see where you come from and what you’ve overcome,’’ Antony said. ‘’You come from nothing, from not having enough to eat, and now have practically everything with such ease – it’s difficult to deal with this. I will always represent the favela. It is there, with me, for the rest of my life.’’