Potential like Pato: the power of investing in young talent

Alexandre Pato left home early in life, at only 11 years old. Why? He wanted to play football and had the talent to do so.

However, much like for many players, funding proved to be challenging. His family couldn’t afford to live in Porto Alegre, where he went to play, so he grew up without them at the football academy centre instead. As you can imagine, he spent time hiding and crying there, but he couldn’t tell his parents; otherwise, they would have been there the next day to take him home, where he didn’t have the opportunity to play football.

During this time, he fell on his arm and broke it in two places. Upon treating him, doctors found the unexpected: a tumour. His parents didn’t have health insurance or the money to pay for the surgery, so his dad showed the tapes of his games to the doctor and said: “This is my son. He just wants to play football. I don’t want to see him stop playing”. The doctor performed the surgery for free.

Shortly after, Pato began to be noticed in the first stage of Brazilian football. In 2006, he led the club team to win the FIFA Club World Cup against Ronaldinho’s Barcelona. His fame grew daily, as did his salary, from about €530 to around €2,650 a month. Once transferred to Italy, his salary immediately went up to about €38,000 per month initially, and in the last year of the contract to €150,000 per month.

Unfortunately, Pato was one of the players who did not have a successful career spanning decades. However, his income is estimated at around $145 million, placing him among the wealthiest footballers of all time.

Your investment in Nordensa could be an investment in the next Pato. You could give a young, talented player a shot at greatness and earn 3%, together with other sponsors, of his salary and exclusive merchandise for the next five years.

But don’t overthink it. The transfer period might end soon.