"He has never forgotten the day they went to a family meal where everyone was supposed to bring a dish. Raising four children on her own and working as a refuse collector on a minimum wage, Diva did not have it easy and arrived empty-handed. It was then that Thiago heard a close relative say she would only take her children out to eat at other people's expense. Diva felt humiliated and left in tears. "From today on, no-one in this life is going to humiliate you any more," Thiago told her on the way home. "I'm going to become a footballer, you'll see. Everyone will know me one day.""
""Thiago would call me late at night in tears to say that football wasn't for him," Sergio Goncalves, his mentor from his early years at Gremio Ocidental, a local community football initiative, tells BBC Sport. "But he was born to score goals." The 24-year-old has found the back of the net 16 times in the Premier League this season. He is on target to reach the 20-goal mark once again in his career - having done so in three of his four seasons in Europe, the only exception being his debut campaign with Brentford, which was disrupted by a serious injury."
Igor Thiago promised his mother, Maria Diva, that he would become a professional footballer after she was humiliated at a family meal. Diva raised four children alone while working as a refuse collector on minimum wage, and the promise motivated Thiago from childhood. Thiago faced many rejections at trials and only signed for a club at 17 after persistent setbacks. Sergio Goncalves, his early mentor, recalls Thiago’s tears and innate goal-scoring ability. At 24, Thiago has scored 16 Premier League goals this season and is on course to reach 20 goals, matching his frequent scoring form in Europe. Thiago’s career included a debut-season injury but has since produced multiple 20-goal campaigns, with a west London derby against Chelsea as his next match.
Read at www.bbc.com
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