Paulo Futre turns to fiction: he is welcomed by “Rua das Flores”, the historic Portuguese soap

Paulo Futre, a former striker of the Portuguese national team, leaves the world of football for television drama and has joined the cast of the Portuguese soap opera “Rua das Flores” (“Via dei Fiori”).

The player, who finished second in the ranking of the Ballon d’Or 1987, will give life to “a very particular character, which will be revealed shortly” and will join the filming of the telenovela next week, as announced Thursday in a press release from the Lusitanian television network. TVI.

“As a child I watched soap operas and like every other child I dreamed of being part of that magic,” said the 56-year-old Porto star, winner of the 1987 European Cup. Futre assured that it was “impossible” for him to say no to the offer received from TVI’s director of Fiction and Entertainment, the well-known presenter Cristina Ferreira.

“I felt like that child who makes a dream come true again. It is a wonderful challenge and I face it with the same enthusiasm and energy that I felt when I started playing football, ”added Paulo.

“Rua das Flores” tells the story of a street in Lisbon where Doña Tília lives, a woman to whom her neighbors try to make prophecies, and its “world premiere” is scheduled for the second quarter of the year.

Futre, 41 appearances and 6 goals for Portugal, played with Atlético Madrid in two stages, one between 1987 and 1993 and another in 1997. After retiring he also held the position of sporting director of the club rojiblanco from 2000 to 2003.

He also played in the “big three” of Portuguese football – Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Benfica -, as well as in Olympique Marseille, Reggiana, Milan, West Ham and Yokohama Flügels.