AFC Bournemouth
According to the popular Christmas song – It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.
And while AFC Bournemouth captain Neto will enjoy precious time with his family, from now on the festive season will also be tinged with a great deal of sadness.
Just seven months ago, and on the eve of the Cherries’ final Premier League game of 2022/23, Neto received the devastating news that his mother Claudia had passed away.
He immediately headed back to Brazil to grieve with his family and has said her untimely and unexpected loss will impact on him until the day he dies.
A fans’ favourite and hugely popular figure among the club’s supporter base, Neto joined afcb.co.uk to talk about his mum, his family and all things Christmas, both in England and Brazil.
He said: “My mother gave me everything and it will be a very difficult moment for me because it will be the first Christmas without her.
“I have to give memories to my kids and will try to pass to them what I learned from her and try to be a family.
“It hit me hard and will keep impacting me. It will impact me until the end of my life because it’s a big thing for every person who has lost their mother.
“Everybody at this club were very important because they understood what I was feeling at that moment.
“After a month or a couple of months, I was feeling completely strange. I would try to do something normal but wasn’t able to.
“Over time, you start to understand and try to keep going but it’s really hard. I have to keep working and keep trying to move forward.
“It’s difficult but I’m 34-years-old and I understand the situation in a different way. We are normal people and things happen in our lives like with everyone else.
“I understand football is a big show and, for many people, we are the example or the dream. We have a life, we have feelings and we have everything they have as well.
“We have to give it our best and try to win games. If we don’t win or play badly, it’s our mistake. But this is normal and we have to live with it, this is our job.
“The only thing we have to do is not put a lot of pressure on ourselves because it’s normal. We know our job is like this and it always will be.”
Neto picked Home Alone as his favourite Christmas film and Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You as his favourite festive song.
He was asked about the difference between Christmas in Europe and Brazil and spending time with daughter Isabella, who will be six in early January, and 19-month-old son Henrique.
Neto said: “A traditional Christmas in Brazil is being with family and everybody together.
“I remember my time at home with my grandparents and my uncles going around looking for the Santa, putting gifts under the tree, eating together and playing cards with my family. It’s everything about spending time with the family.
“Christmas in the UK is cold and there is wind and snow. In Brazil, it’s the complete opposite, you go to the beach, drink cold beer, barbeque and walk with no shirt on.
“For me, it’s the best moment of the year in Brazil. Christmas and then the last day of the year are amazing and the energy of the whole week is very good.
“As a footballer, you have to give everything to the job. We have a lot of games in this period and we want to try to win them.
“I will spend time with my kids as well. I will try to give them some memories because Christmas is about memories, it’s not about gifts.”
Neto was also asked for a Christmas message to Cherries supporters: “I want to say thank you for your excellent support throughout the year.
“We keep pushing and we are trying to have a great season for everybody. I would like to thank the supporters for what we feel from them. Hopefully, we can do great things in the year ahead.
“We have a lot of things to do and we have a lot of quality here. From our side, we will try to do everything to show it and not put a limit on ourselves. We will try to have a great season.”
