The fall of the emperor. Adriano, now 42, was probably one of the greatest talents in Brazilian football. At a time when Brazil was giving pride of place to its Ballons d'Or Ronaldinho, Kaka, or even Ronaldo R9, made Inter Milan supporters shiver, branded by his painful and interminable descent into hell, which still stretches to this day. If at the time, his escapades were limited to nighttime outings on the eve of matches, the death of his father made him lose control later.
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In 2010, The World revealed the dangerous connections maintained by Adriano with a Brazilian gang. Which did not prevent him from returning to football, and even announcing his signing… in Le Havre, in 2014. A fault in the spatio-temporal space of humanity, even if this transfer will never see the light of day . To ease his pain, he invited 18 prostitutes to a Brazilian hotel… Since then, 10 years have passed, but Adriano's life is still on autopilot. In recent weeks, new videos have surfaced showing the former player, drunk, wandering like a lost soul in a Brazilian favela. And they were almost painful to watch.
The fallen emperor
Adriano has often described his career as a constant battle between his raw talent and the personal demons that pursued him. The death of his father, Almir, in 2004 was the trigger for a downward spiral from which he was never really able to recover. “I am the biggest mess in football. I love that word, 'waste'. Not only because of how it sounds, but also because I'm obsessed with wasting my life. I'm fine like that, in frenzied waste. I like this stigma”he recently declared in a long testimony to the site The Player’s Tribune. I drink every day. I drink because it's not easy to be a promise gone into debt. And it's even worse at my age. The death of my father? Even today, it's a problem that I still haven't been able to overcome.», he added.
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A few days ago, Adriano said goodbye to football during his jubilee at the Maracana, eight years after his last match with Inter Miami. An event during which he burst into tears, after the broadcast of a voice message from his father generated by artificial intelligence to pay tribute to him. He was also given a commemorative plaque by Zico inscribed with the word “ Emperor », his lifelong nickname. A pilgrimage which mixes regrets and fascination, and which symbolizes the unfulfilled promises of a player whom destiny has brutally slowed down.
Pub. the 04/01/2025 16:14
– UPDATE 04/01/2025 16:42
