Man Utd ace reveals he once jumped over a dead body on his way to school and played football against drug dealers

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Manchester United winger Antony has penned a powerful piece for The Players’ Tribune to discuss his difficult childhood in Brazil.

The 22-year-old joined Man Utd from Ajax this summer, having impressed as one of the most exciting young talents in the major leagues in Europe.

It’s been a slightly inconsistent start for Antony with the Red Devils, but he’s shown some moments of immense potential, and it’s worth remembering just how far he’s come in a short space of time.

Antony says he grew up in a very poor part of Brazil, and had to toughen up from a young age, when he would play football with bleeding feet against drug dealers and other criminals.

Antony also revealed that he once jumped over a dead body on his morning walk to school, and that he always remembers where he’s come from when he steps out onto a football pitch.

Manchester United’s Antony celebrates a goal

“I was born in hell. That’s not a joke. For my European friends who don’t know, the favela where I grew up in São Paulo is actually called Inferninho — ‘little hell,'” Antony said.

“If you really want to understand me as a person, then you must understand where I am from. My history. My roots. Inferninho.

“Man, some of the things I have seen …. Only those who have lived it can understand. On my walk to school one morning, when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old, I came across a man laying in the alley. He was not moving.

“When I got closer, I realized he was dead. In the favela, you become kind of numb to these things. There was no other way to go, and I had to get to school. So I just closed my eyes and jumped over the dead body.

“I am not saying this to sound tough. It was just my reality. In fact, I always say that I was very lucky as a child, because despite all of our struggles, I was given a gift from heaven. The ball was my saviour. My love from the cradle. In Inferninho, we don’t care about toys for Christmas. Any ball that rolls is perfect to us.

“Every day, my older brother would take me to the square to play football. In the favela, everyone plays. Kids, old men, teachers, construction workers, bus drivers, drug dealers, gangsters. There, everyone is equal.

“In my father’s time it was a dirt pitch. In my time, it was asphalt. In the beginning, I played barefoot, on bleeding feet. We did not have money for proper shoes.

“I was small, but I dribbled with a meanness that came from God. Dribbling was always something inside me. It was a natural instinct. And I refused to bow my head to anyone. I would elastico the drug dealers. Rainbow the bus drivers. Nutmeg the thieves. I really did not give a f***.

“With a ball at my feet, I had no fear.”

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