Bruno Guimarães was ready to quit football. Now he is a Brazil player
11-May-2020 09:29:28 | The Guardian
After rejections from Flamengo, Fluminense and Botafogo, Guimarães decided to call it a day. But his dad kept pushing him
By Josué Seixas for Yellow and Green Football
When Bruno Guimarães was considering a move to Europe, he was not short of options. Benfica, Arsenal and Atlético Madrid were keen, but Lyon had a card up their sleeve: Juninho Pernambucano. Before moving to France, where he won seven Ligue 1 titles as a player, Juninho had lifted two Brazilian championships and a Copa Libertadores with Vasco Da Gama. The Guimarães family are fanatical Vasco supporter so, when Juninho picked up the phone and told Guimarães that he wanted to make him “the best midfielder in the world”, his destination was sealed.
“Juninho spoke with my father, with my mother and with me. I believe in his word and I believe that I can be one of the best,” says Guimarães via video link from his home in France. “Juninho is a great guy, who won a lot of titles here at Lyon. He was extremely honest with me and my parents. It was a hard choice, but they told us exactly what they wanted.”
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