My parents didn't want me to play football- Firmino

Photo: Getty Images

Liverpool attacker Roberto Firmino has revealed his mother
would lock him in his house to stop him from playing
football.

The Brazil international completed a £29 million move to
Liverpool from Hoffenheim in the summer, and has since
made 16 appearances for the club.

Firmino scored and provided two assists in the recent
dismantling of Manchester City– Liverpool won 4-1 at the
Etihad Stadium – in a suggestion that he is starting to come
of age in the Premier League under the management of
Jurgen Klopp.

The 24-year-old, though, admits that his parents initially
discouraged him from playing in favour of his schooling.

“When I was a kid, sometimes mum and dad didn’t really
want me to play football. They wanted me to study,” he told
the Daily Telegraph .

“Occasionally they would even lock me in at home and I
would have to jump the wall at the back to play football! But
today I am here, and I am thankful of that. My mum
remembers those times. She mentions it sometimes. I tell
her it was for a good cause!”

Firmino started his career at local club CRB in his native
Brazil – based in Maceio – but moved to Figueirense in
2008 and he admits that his initial move was tough for both
him and his family.

“It was really difficult to leave my family to go south and my
mother cried every day. From the moment I left CRB I was
away from my family for a year. For a 16-year-old, that’s
quite difficult,” he added.

“But that is life. You have to chase your dreams and
thankfully I am here today. I went to the youth team at
Figueirense first.

“Then I played for a year and a half in Serie B (the Brazilian
second division).

“We got promoted and then I went to Germany.”