It’s Brazil legend Adriano’s birthday, so what better time to delve into the background of one of football’s great characters.
Adriano, who is now 41, starred for Inter Milan, Parma and Roma among others in a stellar football career. And he once spent £13,000 on 18 prostitutes to deal with the disappointment of a failed transfer, it has been reported in the past. Yes, really.
In 2015 at the age of 33 and without a club following a brief failed spell with Atletico Paranaense, the former Inter Milan star was on the prowl for a new team.
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Le Havre had made him an offer and he was ready to sign for the French side but the deal fell through at the last minute. A takeover of the club had crashed and the audacious contract offer was taken off the table, leaving Adriano devastated.
And he consoled himself in the best way he could think of – by spending £13,000 on 18 prostitutes, reported Extra.
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(Image: @adrianoimperador/Golders)
(Image: adrianoimperador/Instagram)
It was stated that he flew back to Rio de Janeiro and went straight to a brothel, taking the women to a private party at Motel VIP’s.
The binge did not end until the early hours where by that point Adriano had spent thousands of Brazilian Reals – R$60,000 to be precise. Just the year before in 2014, the former Inter Milan and Parma star had been cleared for drug trafficking after being accused in 2010, due to a lack of evidence.
Adriano would eventually find a new club in Miami United in 2016 but failed to make a single appearance.
(Image: New Press/Getty Images)
That would signal the end of his playing career but those who remember him in his prime know how frightening the 40-year-old was for defenders.
After exploding onto the scene at the age of 18, many had tipped him to become the long-term successor to Ronaldo while he did fill in for the Brazil legend at the 2004 Copa America.
He finished the tournament as the Golden Boot winner after netting seven while he also won four Serie A titles with Inter Milan.
(Image: Instagram @adrianoimperador)
Once dubbed the “Emperor”, the striker formed a deadly quartet for the Selecao with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka at the 2006 World Cup – though they ultimately knocked out by France in the quarter-finals.
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