Why this Brazilian football veteran refuses to leave Hong Kong after 17 years
Released by Kitchee last month after 11 years at the club, centre-back Goncalves is hunting for a new employer. But the 39-year-old, who spent his opening six years in Hong Kong with Citizen, is planning to keep mum waiting.
'Hong Kong is my place, I became a better man here – spiritually,' Goncalves said. 'I raised my family here.
'Also, I believe in God and, in this period, I have become more attached.'
Goncalves lent on that faith last year when the youngest of his three children, five-year-old Aron, became gravely ill after contracting Guillain-Barre Syndrome while on holiday in Orlando.
Helio Goncalves leaps highest in a triumphant 2023 title decider against Lee Man. Photo: Dickson Lee
'It was very severe,' Goncalves said. 'First, the movement in his legs stopped, then it moved higher. Everything stopped working. He couldn't move his eyes; even his lungs were affected. He was in a lot of danger.'
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