The wild stories of Brazilian footballers

Brazil produces more top footballers than any other country. You don’t have to take our word for it, just look at the stats:

• It produces more than double the number of professional footballers than any other country (2,375 per year), per FIFA.

• The Brazil national team has won the most World Cup trophies (5).

• Since 1994, one in every six Ballon d'Or is awarded to a Brazilian.

They aren’t just successful footballers, they’re iconic.

But…

… some of the most successful Brazilian players have something in common: they’re wild.

• Ronaldinho lived with two girlfriends before facing bankruptcy. 

• Adriano spent £13,000 on 18 prostitutes then ran away from his wife, 24 days after marrying her.

• Ronaldo Nazario had buses full of ladies driven to his parties whilst he played at Real Madrid.

• Alexandre Pato was known to love drug-fuelled parties.

The list goes on.

An unfair label?

Not all Brazilian footballers are wild. Professional football would cease to function if they were all scandalous.

But we have some theories on why we hear about their discrepancies so much in the press.

Maybe… as they produce so many iconic footballers, it also means they make a lot of money. You know what they say… mo’ money mo’ problems. Simple maths.

Maybe… Brazilian players stand out more on the pitch with their flair and style which attracts media attention. Guilty as charged.

Or maybe… they approach life with the same free spirit that they do on the pitch. We’re going with this one.

Who knows, but does anyone have Ronaldinho’s number? For research purposes only of course.