The Story Of Wolves New Player Matheus Nunes, Worked At The Family Bakery Before Breaking Transfer Record

Matheus Nunes (Instagram @ matheusnunes73)

JAKARTA - Wolverhampton Wanderers' new signing Matheus Nunes turned out to have worked in his family's bakery before breaking the English club's transfer record.

Nunes, 23, moved from Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon to Wolves for £42 million.

That figure surpasses the previous record held by Fabio Silva when he was imported from Porto for 35 million pounds.

However, who would have thought that three years ago Nunes helped his family's economy by working as a waiter at his family's Pão da Vila bakery in Ericeira, near Lisbon.

It's been an incredible journey for the talent from Rio, Brazil, who moved to Portugal with his mother and stepfather at the age of 13.

As for his biological father, it was not at all an important part of his bitter life. He grew up with his mother Catia who raised him and went through a difficult childhood.

"Sometimes we have nothing to eat even though my mother never stops working," Nunes told Portuguese newspaper Record last year.

"He was a fighter who instilled in me a love of football. With him I got my first touch."

Life in Brazil is so difficult that this small family heads to the seaside town of Ericeira in search of a new life. That's where they started their business by opening a shop above.

Nunes helped out at the shop for at least five or six months as he forged his football career. He works in the morning and has to play in the evening.

"I would stand for five, sometimes six hours standing and training after that wasn't easy. I didn't have a driver's license and got up at 5am to go to work by bicycle," he said.

Nunes started his football career by joining the local team Ericeirense in the bottom tier of the league competition in Portugal. It was at the club that he began to learn to play like his role model Ronaldinho.

In 2018 Nunes joined Estoril and played with the club's Under-23 team. His outstanding talent made Sporting sign him in January 2019 with a five-year contract duration.

Since then elite European clubs have started to monitor Nunes, including Chelsea, who had been linked. This summer Liverpool also reportedly want to bring the player to Anfield before Wolves go first.