NM

Alexandre Pato: "Man … those were the days I thought I’d make it to the very top. The expectations were so great, you know? I was the supertalent, the sure thing. I was already playing for Brazil. The press writes about you, the fans talk about you, even other players hype you up. PATO WILL BE THE BEST IN THE WORLD. PATO WILL WIN THE BALLON D’OR. I loved the attention. I wanted to be talked about. But you know what happened? I began dreaming too much. Even though I was still working hard, my imagination was taking me all kinds of places. In my head I was already holding the Ballon d’Or. You can’t help it, man. It’s very hard not to get affected. Also, I had suffered like hell to get there. Why should I not enjoy it? When I became the Golden Boy as the best young player in Europe, in 2009, I didn’t think about the Ballon d’Or. I was just having fun and OPA! — a prize. I was unstoppable when I was living in the present. But my head got stuck in the future."