Brazilian cult hero Adriano opens up on his father's death and depression battle

Brazilian legend Adriano has opened up on the tragic passing of his father during his time at Inter Milan, which he has claimed left him without 'the head' to continue to play for the club.

Adriano was tipped to become one of the greatest Brazilian forwards of his generation, set to fill in the void left when Ronaldo Nazario hung up his boots, and won 48 caps.

However, despite featuring in the 'magic quartet' alongside Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Kaka at the 2006 World Cup, he never was able to reach the full potential that had been bestowed upon him.

The death of his father left him struggling with depression, and he later admitted to having battled alcoholism, with a decline in form and performances mirroring the tragic loss.

He has since revealed why he left Inter, where he would play 177 times and score 74 goals, in order to protect his team-mates.

'After my father's death I no longer had the head to be able to play for Inter,' the now-43-year-old former striker said. 'It's an event that hurt me so much, I chose to return to Brazil because I no longer had my head and, thus, I would have damaged the team and my team-mates.

'My father always did everything for my family and he was gone, I stayed and, as a man, I had to help my family because they needed me.'

After becoming the star of the show with Inter, his career quickly went downhill, moving on loan to Brazil with Sao Paulo, before short stints with Flamengo, Roma and Corinthians.

Between 2012 and 2016 he would have stints at Flamengo, Atletico Paranaense and Miami United, but would manage only one league game across that period, before bringing his club career to an end in the United States.

'People don't understand what depression is, I looked the same and everyone, but that wasn't the case,' Adriano continued, providing a heartbreaking insight into what he was going through at the time.

'Everyone has their own way of handling this thing, I had mine. I did what I felt in my heart and head. I don't care what people think, my friends and family were with me in this choice.

'I am very close to Javier Zanetti and Ivan Cordoba, at Inter they welcomed me like a brother, or like a son. Marco Materazzi did the same thing, he was always with me. They are people who gave me everything to try not to leave Inter. Even today when I hear them I am very pleased.'

However, in December 2024 an exhibition match in Brazil saw Adriano reduced to tears as a message from his beloved late father was played on the big screens at the iconic Maracana.

Footage showed the former Brazil star, now 39, burst into tears and struggle to stand up as the homage played out, pacing up and down with his head in his hands, with the game momentarily halted for the message to be played out.

He played one half for both the Flamengo legends side and the Friends of Italy team, who had assembled to mark the official farewell to football of Adriano over the weekend.

It was a star-studded line-up akin to something a video game might cook up; the Flamengo side featured legends like Romario, Edilson, Julio Cesar, Vagner Love, and was managed by iconic former international Zico, deemed the best Brazilian to never win the World Cup.

The Italian side also had its own glittering collection of stars, with Mateo Materazzi, Ivan Cordoba, Dida and David Pizarro - as well as Adriano's son Adrianinho.

The tears had already begun prior to kick-off after his grandmother appeared at the centre circle, and then continued when his son scored for the Friends of Italy side.

Fellow Inter legend Zanetti has himself described what it was like hearing Adriano find out about the death of his father, telling Sports Illustrated in 2017: 'He got a phone call from Brazil: "Adri, dad is dead".

'I saw him in his room, he threw the phone and started screaming. You couldn't imagine that kind of scream. Since that day [Inter chairman Massimo] Moratti and myself watched over him as he was our little brother.

'He kept playing football, scoring goals, and pointing to the sky dedicating them to his father. After that phone call nothing was the same.'