Manchester City had high hopes for Brazilian striker Jo (João Alves de Assis Silva) when in 2008 they bought him for a then club record £19m fee from CSKA Moscow. But what is he doing now?
A decade ago was a time when the club had seen a massive cash injection. It was a period in our history when MCFC was scanning the market, determined to bring quality to manager Mark Hughes’ squad.
Who remembers, during his time (less than 18 months) when City authorised a £270m spending spree.
Hughes’ City signings
Vincent Kompany – £7m
Pablo Zabaleta – £6m
Wayne Bridge – £12m (left on a free after contract expiry)
Nigel de Jong – £18m (sold to AC Milan for £5m)
Shay Given – £6m (sold to Aston Villa for £3.5m)
Craig Bellamy – £14m (left on a free)
Robinho – £32.5m (sold to AC Milan for £15m)
Shaun Wright-Phillips – £9m (sold to QPR)
Gareth Barry – £12m
Joleon Lescott – £22m
Kolo Toure – £16m (went on a free to Liverpool)
Carlos Tevez – £47m (sold to Juve for £10m)
Jo £19m – (signed for Internacional)
Tal Ben Haim £6m
Roque Santa Cruz £18m – (left at the end of his contract)
Emmanuel Adebayor £25m – (sold to Spurs for £5m)
Money wasted?
Let’s face facts. Jo was a total and utter flop, and a waste of money. He struggled to get into the team and when he did (41 apps) he managed to score a paltry six times.
During the 2009 winter transfer window, a simple decision was made, and that was to ship him out, on loan to Everton.
Following two Merseyside loan stints and then a brief spell at Galatasaray in July 2011 City offloaded the chump and in doing so returned to his native counties top team, Corinthians.
Battle with alcoholism – the booze blighted his time in England
“I put the drink first, because it takes you to other situations,” Jo is quoted as saying.
“For example, I could get a drink here at home, or two, or three, with my wife and friends.
“Then, if I did not play, I began to drink at home. And then I’d go out.
“[Alcohol] makes you do things you did not want to do.”
“I began to drink, drink, drink and I wanted to drink until morning. I went out in the morning and wanted to go to another bar.
“Then later, when I stopped, thought, what am I doing? Where am I? My wife is at home.
“I told her I wouldn’t do it anymore, but after a while, two days, I did it again.”
What is he doing now?
Ready for one more challenge. May you bless us. #jo7 #fe #foco #deusefiel #fielsenhor #j1league #nagoya pic.twitter.com/V4dun9UijO
— Jo7 (@jo7oficial) April 25, 2018
His four-year alcohol abstinence has seen his footballing fortune gather momentum.
Earlier this year the 31-year-old forward moved to the J league and is now enjoying life and banging the goals in for fun at Nagoya Grampus Eight. So much so in August 2018, he netted five times during ten appearances.
Toda honra e glória a ti senhor!???????? pic.twitter.com/LhjjTzehUX
— Jo7 (@jo7oficial) May 5, 2018
I have to admit, Jo was not one of my favourite signings.