Richarlison: Scared of Chelsea? I saw drugs and guns every day

Daniel Storey

Watford forward Richarlison says that nothing scares him in football because of the things he has faced in his personal life.

Brazilian Richarlison grew up in a rough neighbourhood in Nova Venecia. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he recalls how he was almost shot as a youngster.

Richarlison says that he could easily have become a drug dealer, but that his football coaches were also policemen and kept him on the straight and narrow.

“I remember when I was growing up in Brazil, a guy once pointed a gun at my face because he thought I was a drug dealer trying to steal his distribution point,” he said.

“That was my life. After that, playing Chelsea seems much easier!

“That sort of thing was natural in my life, so I was not scared at all. It was a pretty rough area: I saw drugs in front of me every day, and gunshots as well.

“We had a small house, but there was a backyard there where people used to hide drugs before selling them. They were my friends, so I could not do anything against them.

“They were mostly involved with selling weed and stuff, but I have never touched it. Some of my friends from that time are in jail now.

“There was everything to turn myself in a drug dealer, but my coaches were from the police.

“As they were aware of where I was from, they were always giving me advice in order to prevent me going on that bad path.”