Junior Messias scored his first brace for Milan and urged everyone to stop treating his rags to riches story as a fairy-tale. ‘I am here now because I earned it.’
The Brazilian’s path to success has intrigued football fans all over the world, in a few years moving from part-time delivery man to Serie A with Crotone and now scoring in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.
He was essential again this evening, scoring twice in the 3-0 Serie A victory away to Genoa, which was also his first start for the Rossoneri.
With that in mind, Messias insists it’s time to focus on the present rather than his past.
“As the coach says, I am here now because I earned it. The time has passed for fairy-tales and what I used to do, now I want to talk about my football today and what I do now,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
Messias is the first Brazilian to bag a Serie A double for Milan since Ronaldinho.
“Every player is different and has his story.”
It took a while for him to settle, especially as the transfer from Crotone was only completed at the start of September.
This is a loan deal for €2.6m with option to buy at the end of the season for a further €5.4m, a huge step up considering last term with Crotone was his debut in Serie A.
“When you don’t manage to get the pre-season training with a new team, that can cause problems and the injuries I think were also due to that.
“I always work for the team and try to give my best, so it doesn’t matter if I play on the wing or as a trequartista.
“You play against strong players, those who wrote history. At Milan we’ve got people like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paolo Maldini and Dida, who really did make their mark, and it’s a pleasure to work with them.
“You have to adapt, whether it’s to a small club or big, a lower league or the top flight. The ability to adapt is essential.”
With the World Cup play-offs against Macedonia coming up in March, and Joao Pedro of Cagliari approached to play for Italy, Messias was asked if he was eligible for the Azzurri.
“No, because I don’t have an Italian passport!”
A lovely composed finish from Junior Messias! 🎯
Milan are taking Genoa apart with ease and the Brazilian slots home his second of the night 💪 pic.twitter.com/3FHTSSQ4tN
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 1, 2021