Football’s eleventh richest participant bedded prime minister’s daughter, Miss Brazil and TV babes
One of the world’s richest footballers who enjoyed a lot more success with the ladies than he did in the Premier League is now spearheading the takeover of an EFL club.
Alexandre Pato played just twice for Chelsea, scoring one goal, during an ill-fated loan spell. But the flop is now back making headlines in the UK because the ex-Brazil forward is set to become a major shareholder in League Two outfit Northampton Town. The former AC Milan striker’s investment group Sports Alpha Capital pulled out of a deal earlier this year to buy another League Two club, Colchester United.
But he was in the stands at the Sixfields Stadium on Saturday to see Northampton’s 1-0 win over Newport County, after a takeover was approved by the Independent Football Regulator and English Football League. And while he failed to make much of a mark at Stamford Bridge, fans of the Cobblers will be excited to have a businessman on board with staggering wealth at his disposal, following a rollercoaster life on and off the pitch.
Alexandre Pato was a wonderkid at AC Milan(Image:
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Pato, who turned 37 on Wednesday, was once hailed as one of the most promising young talents on the planet. Nicknamed ‘The Duck’, his scintillating displays for Internacional in his homeland of Brazil, where he claimed the Club World Cup, secured him a switch to Serie A powerhouse AC Milan as a teenager.
Things could have been very different for the football prodigy – it was feared he would be forced to have his arm amputated, after a tumour was uncovered when he was just 11-years-old. Yet following successful surgery, he became a star and aged 17 scored on his AC Milan debut. The world was suddenly swooning over South America’s next big thing.
In Italy he scooped both Golden Boy and Serie A Young Footballer of the Year honours, before his strikes propelled the Rossoneri to the league crown in 2011. However, injuries constantly plagued him and he eventually returned to Brazil with Corinthians and subsequently Sao Paulo, before finally rocking up at Chelsea on loan in 2016, during Guus Hiddink’s second reign at the club.
Alexandre Pato celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot for Chelsea(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Upon signing, Pato said: “I am so happy to sign for Chelsea. It is a dream for me. I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know my new team-mates and cannot wait to play.” He made his bow away to Aston Villa as an early replacement for the injured Loic Remy and in first-half stoppage time, earned a spot-kick and slotted it home for the second goal in a 4–0 victory. But that proved to be the sole bright spot of his sad stint in West London.
A nomadic career that also featured spells in Spain with Villarreal, at Chinese outfit Tianjin Tianhai, turning out for MLS franchise Orlando City and two additional periods with Sao Paulo, transformed him into an extraordinarily wealthy individual. Pato commands an eye-watering net worth of approximately £110m, positioning him as the 11th richest footballer globally, according to planetsport.
The bulk of Pato’s net worth stems from shrewd investments, extensive property portfolios, and profitable endorsement agreements with CoverGirl cosmetics. The former striker possesses a chain of burger establishments in Brasilia, a vodka brand, and a fashion line.
Pato’s first wife, swimsuit model Sthefany Brito(Image: Instagram/sthefanybrito)
Sthefany Brito would later call Pato “toxic”(Image: Instagram/sthefanybrito)
Along the way, he’s also bedded a who’s who of beautiful women including models, actresses, TV stars, and even a prime minister’s daughter. As the man himself once admitted: “I like having girlfriends.”
Just months after landing in Italy, Pato had got engaged to Sthefany Brito, whom he met during a swimsuit photoshoot. By July 2009, despite an on-again-off-again relationship, the couple tied the knot and threw a £170,000 party at Brazil’s luxurious Copacabana Palace hotel to celebrate.
The nation’s press dubbed them as Brazil’s answer to Posh and Becks, as hundreds of guests joined them, donning matching Dolce and Gabana outfits for the occasion. However, the marriage lasted a mere nine months and Sthefany returned to Brazil with her mother, leading to a bitter divorce that involved a three-year legal battle, with her labelling him “toxic”.
Miss Brazil Debora Lyra competed in Miss Universe 2010(Image: AFP/Getty)
Pato’s romance with Debora Lyra didn’t last long(Image:
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Pato didn’t waste any time moving on and quickly became involved with Miss Brazil 2010 Debora Lyra as they supported their country in the World Cup. Pato was sidelined due to injury so missed out on the tournament. Despite his prodigious talent, he would only earn 27 caps for Brazil, netting 10 goals in total.
Pato and the model’s hectic work schedules were cited as the reason for their break up after just one month. Yet Deborah would later claim there was more to it than that. She said: “He cheated on me. So I don’t know if she [Sthefany Brito] framed that… I don’t know if she frames infidelity as toxic. He cheated, he cheated with Barbara Berlusconi, who was even his boss at the time.
“I found out after it was over. Because, like, he broke up with me one day, and three days later he was already with her. I felt terrible, I was very young.”
Alexandre Pato and Barbara Berlusconi at the opening of Armani Hotels and Resorts in Milan in 2011(Image: Splash News)
Alexandre Pato and then girlfriend, Barbara Berlusconi, spending an afternoon on their yacht in Sardinia(Image: PA Images)
Yes, while playing for the Rossoneri, he started a relationship with Barbara – the daughter of controversial former Italian prime minister and AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. Rumours circulated she was pregnant after photos surfaced of him kissing her stomach, while the pair continued to attend matches together during his injury lay-off.
Team-mates reportedly grew uncomfortable with Pato’s close ties to Milan’s management. An insider from Silvio Berlusconi’s media group Mediaset told the Daily Mail: “The rest of the squad realised they had to bite their tongues in front of Pato.
“They couldn’t say certain things about the club or directors. When your team-mate is dating the president’s daughter, you need to be careful.”
Barbara Berlusconi, the daughter of former Italian prime minister and AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi, was given a role on the board of directors at AC Milan in 2011 and became one of the CEOs of the club in 2013(Image:
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Barbara Berlusconi and Alexandre Pato in 2013(Image: AKM-GSI)
The source also suggested the team blamed Barbara for Pato’s dip in performance: “The rest of the squad, rightly or wrongly, linked this to his influential partner.”
In January 2013, Milan decided to cut their losses and sold him to Brazilian side Corinthians. Travel issues seemed to put an end to his relationship with Barbara, as both were seen and associated with other partners shortly after the move.
He tweeted in July 2013: “After two and a half years of dating with many good things! The distance put an end to the relationship.”
Pato was once linked to UFC ring girl Camila Oliveira(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Alexandre Pato spent most of his time at Chelsea in the stands(Image: 2016 Getty Images)
Pato next found himself linked to a relationship with UFC ring girl Camila Oliveira. Brazilian newspaper O Dia claimed he split up with Barbara to be with the MMA beauty.
But she hit out: “I don’t even know this boy, I’ve never seen him, never even looked at his face, I don’t know where the columnist got this from, who invented this for him, because I really don’t know him.”
She added: “I have mutual friends with Pato, but he doesn’t even know about it. I’m very discreet and I don’t like this kind of thing.”
Pato next dated Fiorella Mattheis, pictured together here visiting the Infiniti Red Bull Racing garage before the Brazilian F1 Grand Prix in 2014(Image: Mark Thompson)
Fiorella Mattheis was a model and TV star(Image: Instagram/fiorellamattheis)
When arriving in London for his short-lived spell with Chelsea, he brought model, actress and TV presenter Fiorella Mattheis with him – the daughter of legendary Brazilian race car driver Andreas Mattheis.
Fiorella – who has nearly three million followers on Instagram – started seeing Pato just months after she divorced Brazilian judo star Flavio Canto.
She frequently posted pictures of herself with him or her dogs, along with numerous selfies, and also kept a video diary of their life together in West London as they sat on the sidelines.
But they broke up in 2017, after three years together, in what was said to be an amicable split.
Alexandre Pato and Fiorella Mattheis were a glam couple(Image: Instagram/fiorellamattheis)
Alexandre Pato and Fiorella Mattheis were together for three years(Image: Instagram/fiorellamattheis)
The footballer later met TV presenter Rebeca Abravanel – the daughter of Brazilian businessman Silvio Santos – in 2018.
Nearly a decade his senior, Rebeca seemingly changed his life. In April 2019, they were baptised together at an evangelical church, crying during the ceremony.
Pato then decided to terminate his mega-money contract with Tianjin Tianhai in China, determined to return to playing in Brazil, and signed with Sao Paulo, before marrying his new love in a private ceremony in 2019.
After going to church once with Rebeca before they were married, Pato described the impact it had on him. He said: “Man, it was a revelation. The Bible had all the answers I was looking for. I turned my head to the sky and said, ‘Lord, I no longer want this life.’ That day my life changed forever.”
Pato’s stunning wife, Rebeca Abravanel
Alexandre Pato and Rebeca Abravanel at the Marni fashion show in Milan Fashion Week Fall in February(Image: WWD via Getty Images)
He would later play for Orlando City, before a final stint with Sao Paolo, and went on to have a son with Rebeca, admitting that being a dad was now his prority. Speaking in May 2022, he told The Players’ Tribune: “As you get older, you realise what makes you happy.
“When I left home, I thought football had everything I wanted. I went to Italy, England, Spain, China. I suffered, I cried, I screamed with pain. I was always alone.
“Maybe I didn’t become the best player in the world. But, brother, let me tell you something. I have an amazing relationship with my family. I am at peace with myself. I have a wife that I love.
“The way I see it, I have a lot of Ballon d’Ors. If life is a game, I have won.”
