Homeless until the age of 10 … Nicknamed Bébé by his older brother (it means “baby” in Portuguese), Tiago Manuel Dias Correia lived on the streets of Lisbon as a child. It was on those streets that he learned the game of soccer. According to the Toronto Star, at the age of 10, he was taken into a Portuguese orphanage, a place he lived and worked in until just a few months ago. As noted on the Homeless World Cup site, while at the Casa Do Gaiato shelter, he was invited to play with CAIS, an organization that uses street soccer as a means to fight poverty and social exclusion.
… then his soccer skills continued to flourish … Later, in 2009, Bébé signed with Estrela da Amadora, a soccer club in the Portuguese Third Division, playing with them until the summer of 2010, when he joined the Vitoria Guimaraes club. Amazingly, it wasn’t until signing with the club that he was able to move out of the shelter and into a small apartment. As the Toronto Star noted, in preseason games with Guimaraes, Bébé played well and Portugal’s national team coach, Carlos Quieroz, took note, an important person for Bébé to impress.
… and was recently signed by Manchester United. That’s because Quieroz happens to have a former boss named Sir Alex Ferguson, the current manager of one Manchester United, probably the most famous soccer club in the world. Quieroz brought Bébé to Ferguson’s attention and, a mere five weeks after Bébé signed a five-year contract with Guimaraes, his contract was bought out by Manchester United, who signed him for an eye-popping £7.4 million (around $11.6 million). Clearly, his early struggles have paid off, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes the type of person to use his newfound wealth for the good of those less fortunate than him.
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Screengrab by amillionmoons via YouTube.