João Alves de Assis Silva, or Jô, was acquired from CSKA Moscow in 2008 for 24 million euros. A transfer record for Manchester City at the time. Jô was the first striker to be brought in under the leadership of Sheikh Mansour. However, it was not a great success for the Brazilian. Jô had a lot of problems off the field. “I lost control,” he said Globoesporte.
Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Vincent Kompany, Richard Dunne, Pablo Zabaleta, Dietmar Hamann, Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Jô and Robinho. The first City after the club’s historic transition from Thaksin Shinawatra to the Abu Dhabi United Group. No Erling Braut Haaland and no Kevin De Bruyne at that time. In the field characters such as Dunne, Ireland and Wright-Phillips. And Jô, the first striker of the Citizens under the direction of the sheikh.
Sheikh Mansour (center) during the World Cup in Qatar.
Jô was then 21 years old and had a bright future ahead of him. City paid €24 million to sign him from CSKA Moscow, where he had made his mark by scoring twice against Internazionale in the Champions League. The Brazilian surpassed Nicolas Anelka’s fifteen million euros in 2002. Not much later, that record was pulverized by Robinho, who made the switch to the Etihad Stadium for 42 million euros after long negotiations with Chelsea. The attacker came over from Real Madrid.
Robinho and Jô were on the pitch together on 13 September 2008, thirteen days after the takeover that would turn City’s history upside down. The opponent was Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea. And it started well, because the future AC Milan player already signed for the 1-0 after fifteen minutes. Ricardo Carvalho, however, equalized almost immediately the Blues. Frank Lampard made it 1-2 at the start of the second half and Anelka sprinkled even more salt in the wounds: 1-3.
City and Jô did not become a happy marriage. Coach Mark Hughes’ side finished 10th in the Premier League and the lanky Brazilian never proved he was worth that £24m. He scored just once, in a home win over Portsmouth (6-0). In January he was loaned to Everton, where he scored five more goals. Then half a season in Liverpool, then six months in Turkey with Galatasaray and then a return to Manchester, where he managed to win an FA Cup under Roberto Mancini.
The other side of Jô is one who sets aside dreams of glory to follow a humble path, but not without satisfaction. He was born and raised in Corinthians, where the striker won the championship in 2005 with Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. He traveled all over the world thanks to football. Not only Russia, England and Turkey, but also the United Arab Emirates (Al Shabab), China (Jiangsu) and Japan (Nagoya, top scorer in 2018). But it is Brazil, where he also won a Confederations Cup and was called up by the Seleção for the 2014 World Cup, where Jô gets the most recognition.
Jô became a crowd favorite at Corinthians, where he returned several times. At Atlético Mineiro, where he was also a crowd favorite, a memorable story took place. It started quietly, Jô arrived in Belo Horizonte in 2012. Having scored just two goals in a year at Internacional, Ronaldinho was like him, looking for redemption after the ups and downs at Flamengo. It was the start of a beautiful partnership. On the field, with a second place in the league and the legendary Libertadores of 2013, but also beyond.
Ronaldinho and Jô became a deadly duo with assists from the former and goals from the latter. The two are also when it comes to having fun together. The city where they live does not help in that sense: Belo Horizonte. “Nao tem mar, vamos para o bar”, they say in the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. “There is no sea, so let’s go to the bar.” One of the bars is BH, symbolic of the city. A temptation not easy to master for wealthy athletes devoted to the good life.
Ronaldinho and Jô became a deadly duo in Brazil.
Ronaldinho always has been. Jô used to be, too. And so were the two protagonists of it dolce vita mineira, as they took Atlético back to the top tier on the pitch. But while Ronaldinho never gave up his riotous lifestyle, Jô decided to change once he understood that the spiral of alcohol he had fallen into would crush him little by little. All of them confessed a few years ago in a long interview with Globo Esportewith the certainty of having finally come out.
“I started to lose control when I went to Russia. I started drinking. Instead of going out once a week, I went out three, four times. I have not slept. Once married, I calmed down. But then comes the fame, the money, and you feel the need to do things on the sly. That’s where the problems start. At home I had a fight and wanted to go outside. My wife argued with me, I went out. There I found myself alone and bad thoughts came to me. I just did wrong things. All that took a long time.”
“When have I reached rock bottom? When I missed some workouts after being out all night. I’ve missed planes after drinking. All things I regret, because I am a professional football player. Fortunately, I have never risked dying in a car accident.”
Jô decided to convert to Christianity and hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol in years. In contrast to his ex-partner Ronaldinho, with whom he drastically reduced contact after his joint farewell to Mineiro (2015). “Everyone has their own life. If Ronaldinho believes his lifestyle is correct, I respect his choice. If one day I get the chance to meet him again, to explain to him what I’ve been through and what I’m going through today, I will tell him.”
Jô in the service of Corinthians.
Jô played in Saudi Arabia at the age of 36 and occasionally thought back to his time at City. Without too much regret, except that he has arrived at a transitional moment in the club’s history. “Shinawatra was sold and Eriksson had just left, the one who asked me at City,” he said ESPN. “But nevertheless it was a dream for me to play in the Premier League. City was still one at the time mid-table team, but they made progress. Adjustment was not easy. I came from Russia and noticed that I was taken to the most difficult competition in the world.”
Tails, goals, alcohol, Ronaldinho, Brazil, City. The most expensive player status in English history, if only for a few weeks. He had a lot to say, Jô. Idol at Corinthians and Atlético, but forgotten in the Premier League. Despite once leading the City attack, he didn’t become a Haaland.