The mother of the Hernandez brothers reveals Theo was meant to have the Atletico Madrid trial, but they signed Lucas too and he developed quicker as ‘a leader.’
“I made many sacrifices to allow them to play, as I was a single mother who had to work,” Laurence Py told L’Equipe.
“Lucas is right, his transfer to Atletico Madrid was almost a coincidence. The club had invited Theo for a trial, but seeing as there was nobody to look after him at home, Lucas came with us.
“He started playing and a scout spotted him, asking if he was my son. At the end of the day, they signed both of them!
“Lucas then developed more rapidly, he was a fighter, a leader and captain of every team. Theo was shy, sensitive.”
Lucas is now playing for Bayern Munich, while full-back Theo is at Milan.
She outlines the extent of the financial hardship the family was under before both brothers found success.
“One day the police arrived, telling us that there were too many debts their father couldn’t pay. They took everything, giving us one day to load what we could into a car and vacate the premises. We lived for weeks in a single hotel room.”