He continued to believe and moved from Gondomer to Paikose de Ferrera, then Porto, Wolverhampton and finally Liverpool.

Jota became a symbol of hope and inspiration back home. He proved throughout the country that the path is not a straight line, even if it is possible to reach the top.

Talent was always there.

So much so that in his early days, when he was starting to attract some attention with Pacos, one of his former coaches, George Simo made a big claim by saying that Jota would be the successor of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The player was clearly surprised to hear this, but immediately thought of himself, ‘If he believes in him, why can’t I do this?’

Jota was a rare case of an aristocratic Portuguese footballer who never spent time in any big three academies – benfika, sports and porto.

Former PACOS young football coordinator Gilberto Andrade told BBC Sport, “What is different from everyone was really a mental aspect, the way he had crossed any situation – and he realized very quickly.”

“I think there are moments when you are a coach, a coordinator, or a director, then there are words, things that have a lot of impact on the players. At that time, perhaps they do not understand it completely, but later it reflects in their behavior, how they train, how do they live day by day.

“And Jota, I think, to some extent with us, it was understood what it means to be a professional player, what does it mean that a good athlete, a good person. He was an example in that regard. An example in that regard. An example, because often success gives many players to somewhat curved ways to many players.

“But this was not the case with him. He was always very disciplined, very intelligent, very humble. He invested wisely, he knew what he was doing, he could help those people. So I think it is the image that he should remain.”