Raphael Guerreiro: The History of a Pauleta Childhood Fanboy

Guerreiro, like many aspiring young athletes, looked up to a football hero. As a left back or midfielder, you might assume he admired legends like Paolo Maldini or Roberto Carlos. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the case. Did you know that young Raphael Guerreiro was actually a huge fan of former Portuguese striker Pauleta? Remember Pauleta, the handsome Portuguese striker known for his goal-scoring prowess? While Guerreiro’s defensive skills came naturally, he learned intelligent ball control from watching Pauleta. Even today, pictures of Pauleta still adorn the walls of Raphael Guerreiro’s parents’ house.

Speaking of his parents, it’s important to note that Raphael Guerreiro’s heritage is a blend of Portuguese and French. He was born to a French mother and a Portuguese father. Known by his friends as “The Battery,” Raphael Guerreiro once emerged as one of the best left-backs in world football during his peak years. Now, let’s dive deeper into Raphael Guerreiro’s remarkable journey.

Preamble:

To give you a taste of how captivating Raphael Guerreiro’s biography will be, we’ve put together a photo gallery that showcases his journey, from his early childhood days to the moment he achieved fame. There’s no doubt that Raphael Guerreiro has made incredible progress in both his life and career.

Raphael Guerreiro Childhood Story:

For biography starters, his full name is Raphaël Adelino José Guerreiro.

The Portuguese Footballer was born on the 22nd day of December 1993 to his Dad (a factory worker) and his mum (a housewife) in Le Blanc-Mesnil, a commune located in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France.

In case you didn’t know, Moussa Sissoko shares the same birthplace as the left-footed player.

According to French media, Raphael Guerreiro was born into a family of 5, which consisted of his parents and three brothers. He is the youngest of his brothers.

Owing to his name “Raphael,” you’ll agree with me that Guerreiro was born to a Christian Family.

Also, the name originates from Hebrew, which means “God Heals.” Last but not least, it is also the name of one of the Archangels responsible for healing.

Raphael Guerreiro Family Background:

First and foremost, the left-back, just like his Portuguese teammates- Ricardo Pereira and Diogo Jota, wasn’t born into a wealthy home.

Raphaël Guerreiro’s parents weren’t the type who could not afford him the most expensive toys, though they wouldn’t mind getting him a football.

As revealed earlier, having a dad who is a factory worker and a mum who is a stay-at-home parent means coming from a middle-class family background.

Back then, to minimize the cost of rent, Raphael Guerreiro’s family had to settle in Le Blanc-Mesnil, a French suburb that is a 32-minute drive to Paris’s city centre.

Raphael Guerreiro Family Origin:

In the simplest terms, the Footballer, as regards his ancestry, is half Portuguese and half French. Did you know?… Raphaël Guerreiro was born to a French mother and a Portuguese father. The left-back, who, despite having his maternal family origin in France, has long accepted his Portuguese Family roots.

Raphael Guerreiro Biography – The evolution of his Early Life:

For every kid who wants to become a professional footballer, one thing is universal. It’s no other than taking a likeness for an Idol. Did you know?… Young Raphael Guerreiro, during his childhood days, was a big fanboy of former Portuguese striker, Pauleta. Pauleta, whose real name is Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, is regarded by football fans as one of the greatest Portuguese footballers of all time.

There are still pictures of Pauleta on the walls at my parents’ house

Guerreiro once told L’Equipe- a French nationwide daily newspaper. He continued;

I learnt a lot from the intelligence of Portuguese striker, Pauleta. He was someone who played the game in his head and not only with his feet.

Pauleta, the two-time Ligue 1 player of the year, had the biggest impression on him as a youngster. As a young boy growing up in Portugal, Raphael Guerreiro was a big fan of Pauleta and never missed his matches on television.

For young Guerreiro, the prolific goalscorer was more than just a Ligue 1 legend; he was a figure who inspired his love for Portuguese football and his father’s homeland, Portugal.

In 1999, driven by his passion for soccer, the young Guerreiro joined a local team called Blanc-Mesnil, just a short distance from his family home.

After five years of playing amateur youth soccer, he decided it was time to pursue a more serious youth career.

Raphael Guerreiro Biography- Early Career Life:

Remember that EURO 2004 tournament?… Yes, it was a big motivation for the youngster as the competition saw the announcement of his latest idol, who is one of Portugal’s Greatest Ever Players- C Ronaldo.

After EURO 2004, the youngster became eager to attend trials at nearby French academies.

To the joy of family members, Raphael Guerreiro’s determination began to pay off as the youngster got called up by the French élite academy, INF Clairefontaine.

The academy, which is supervised by the French Football Federation, wasn’t into pampering kids.

Early on, INF Clairefontaine forced Guerreiro to learn how to play very quickly, a feat which has inevitably helped him to date.

Not to forget, the youngster’s maturity, techniques and free-kick abilities saw his youth coach making him captain.

Speaking about how brilliant he was as a youth player, one of his teammates once said;

He was the most decisive player on the team, insists Ivan Tankeo, his ex-teammate in 13 years. Just like CR7, he was shooting all set kicks very successfully.

Raphael Guerreiro’s Parents did this to entice him:

Back in the day, it only took an hour’s drive for his mum and dad to visit him at the youth academy- Clairefontaine, where he played his football.

Raphael Guerreiro does insists, that his best memory had always been the time his parents would entice him with a Chorizo ​​Sandwich, a gift which came each time he put up an excellent performance.

Receiving the sandwich was deemed a ‘Cute Little Sin’, according to a French news outlet. While the youngster ate, he would always remember to offer his friends a little piece.

In reality, he was seen by many as generous, both on and off the pitch.

Road to Fame Story:

After coming through France’s renowned Clairefontaine academy, the rising star, at the age of 14, decided to move far away, approximately 253.3 km away from his family home, to play with Stade Malherbe Caen.

At the academy, the mature boy graduated from youth to senior football with flying colours.

After successfully graduating from Caen, Raphael Guerreiro, like many of his mates, began to play for Caen’s reserve team. While there, he rose above his teammates, a feat that projected him immediately to the club’s senior team.

Even in the senior team, his stock continued to rise. The youngster, who always took inspiration from C Ronaldo, saw himself earning a reputation for scoring beautiful free-kicks.

Thanks to his bravery, FC Lorient, as well as the Portugal U21 coach, took notice and came to raid Caen football club in the name of getting his signature. At FC Lorient, Raphael Guerreiro became a saviour.

Did you know?… his role in saving FC Lorient from relegation led to his biggest dream coming to pass. Miraculously, the rising star got a Portuguese call-up to play in the EURO 2016.

Raphael Guerreiro Biography – Rise to Fame Story:

Against all the odds, the Portuguese fulfilled his childhood dream by becoming an integral part of Fernando Santos’ national side that broke French hearts at EURO 2016.

Fans appreciated Raphael Guerreiro with the nickname – ‘The Battery’- all thanks to his plenty of energy on the pitch during the tournament. He, alongside CR7, Danilo Pereira and a host of others, helped Portugal seal the title.

After rising to the occasion in EURO 2016, the top performer began to attract a host of top European clubs. Among them was Thomas Tuchel‘s Borussia Dortmund, who reportedly paid FC Lorient somewhere in the region of €12m for his services.

At the time of writing Raphael Guerreiro’s Biography, the Footballer has, without doubt, seized every single opportunity given to him at both club and national levels.

The evidence below speaks volumes about a man who is labelled as a counter-attacker par excellence.

Beautiful free-kicks, among other strengths, have been a key weapon in Raphael Guerreiro’s armoury down the years.

No wonder he is being labelled as one of the best soccer Left-backs of his generation. The rest, as they say, is now history.

Raphael Guerreiro’s Wife and Children:

There is a saying that behind every successful man, there is a woman.

In our case, behind a successful player like Raphaël Guerreiro, there was a girlfriend who later became his glamorous wife. She is no other than the blond lady who goes by the name Marrion.

From social media sources, it appears Raphael Guerreiro’s wife, Marrion, started out as a girlfriend before becoming his wife sometime around 2016.

More so, it is likely that both lovers had a private wedding with only close family and friends in attendance. Their marriage is indeed blessed.

The couple welcomed their first son, Sacha, in late 2014. On August 18, 2016, Raphael Guerreiro and his wife celebrated the arrival of their baby girl, Ana.

As you might have observed, the Portuguese EURO winner prefers to keep matters about his family very private.

For example, he ensures that all faces of his children, parents, and siblings (except his wife) are kept away from the public view. In subsequent sections, we’ll get to tell you the kind of father he is.

Relationship with Son:

Judging from the story of his early career years, it appears Raphael Guerreiro’s parents always had a way around getting the best in him.

Back in the day, they offered him a bribe using his favourite Chorizo ​​Sandwich. Now it is the footballer’s turn to replicate that to his son, though in his own way.

Today, Raphael Guerreiro’s family needs another generation of footballers, and this can only come through his son. As a modern-day father, the BVB star now has an obligation.  His first strategy is to build that father-son bond.

A perfect way to achieve that is to spend time at Disneyland. Who knows! The little boy’s love for his daddy might see him return the favour by acknowledging football as his destiny.

Personal Life:

Getting to know what the soccer star does off the pitch would help you get a better picture of his personality.

First and foremost, Raphael Guerreiro is someone who has an inner state of independence in him, or in simple words, he is more of an introvert.

Aside from footballing activities, the BVB star is likely to be found in his home, on top of his favourite hobby.

Here’s an interesting fact: Raphael Guerreiro is a huge fan of TV series. As seen below, he loves spending his free time binge-watching shows on Netflix.

As proof, here is an example of him watching the Netflix TV series “Narcos.”

More so in his personal life, if the Footballer is not tuned to Netflix, he would rather prefer to spend his time playing video games alongside his son. See below, it appears he finds it easy to initiate his son into his gaming hobby.

Lifestyle:

In this section, we’ll tell you how the Footballer sees money, his net worth and how he spends his wages.

First and foremost, Raphael Guerreiro’s parents gave him good home training on how to maintain a healthy balance between spending and saving money.

For the most part, the EURO 2016 winner doesn’t believe in publicly showcasing an exotic lifestyle- one easily noticeable by a handful of flashy cars, big mansions/houses etc.

His current net worth of 8 Million Euros and 2020 market value of more than 25 Million Euros still baffle him. Raphael Guerreiro once spoke about his wealth- in his words;

When I left my old club Caen to Lorient, i coudn’t believe I was worth €3m. That was a lot of money for me, especially knowing i was coming out of Ligue 2.” My parents were even more surprised than I was.

As a promise to my myself, I strived to live up to my fee and prove my worth. Then, at some time I told myself: ‘What the hell is going on?’ having a big net worth can even make you feel self-confidence.

Raphael Guerreiro Family Facts:

In our experience of writing footballers’ biography stories, we’ve realized that players with close-knit families are known to possess a strong sense of belonging.

In this section, we’ll give you more facts on Raphael Guerreiro’s parents as well as his relationship with family members.

About Raphael Guerreiro’s Father:

First and foremost, his dad was once an amateur footballer with Blanc-Mesnil, the club where his son began his youth career.

No thanks to a failed soccer career, Raphael Guerreiro’s dad then proceeded to work in a factory near Paris.

Did you know?… the proud father once wanted his son to play as a striker but met resistance with Blanc-Mesnil trainers who insisted Guerreiro must remain at his left-midfield or left-back position.

Upon resisting, the club management feared the dad would pull his son out of the club. Lucky for them, that didn’t happen.

About Raphael Guerreiro’s Mother:

First and foremost, the super mum is the brain person behind the beautiful idea of buying Chorizo Sandwiches as a way to entice her son each time he performs well on the pitch. 

Raphael Guerreiro’s mother is notably protective of her son. At one point, she even insisted that his youth academy in Blanc-Mesnil provide extra care for him because he was 10 cm shorter than his peers.

The aim is for a short Raphael not to compete physically with his teammates, especially after training.

About Raphael Guerreiro’s Brother:

Raphael Guerreiro grew up in a family of boys, with his mother being the only woman in the household. Among his two brothers, the eldest, Emanuel, is the more well-known sibling. Take a look at the photo below to see Big Brother Emanuel.

Untold Facts:

In this concluding section of our Childhood Story and Biography write-up, we’ll present you with some truths you never knew about the ‘The Battery.’

Salary Comparision to the Average Man:

Did you know?… The average French citizen who earns around €2,999 a month would need to work for a total of 4 years and six months to make what Raphael Guerreiro receives a month.

More so, the average German citizen who earns 3,770 euros a month would need to work for around three years and seven months to earn Raphael Guerreiro’s monthly salary.

Finally, the average Portuguese who earns 1188 euros per month would need to work for a whopping eleven years and six months to earn his monthly salary.

What his FIFA Stats Say:

The 2019 UEFA Nations League winner is like Ben Chiwell, who has many good attributes to his name. Having an 83 overall rating means there is still room for improvement. Finally, we observe Raphael Guerreiro is underrated for his FIFA potential score.

He has the Portuguese Order of Merit Honour:

Our very own Raphael Guerreiro isn’t just a winner of titles. Did you know?… He, like Pepe and CR7, etc, once received ‘The Portuguese Order of Merit.’  This award usually goes to those who have made the country proud through their meritorious act or service.

Raphael Guerreiro, alongside his gang, became the recipient of the award after they helped Portugal win the EURO 2016. Behold the Left Winger and his Gang. They all received the Portuguese Order of Merit thanks to Euro 2016, a time when the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Nuno Mendes were yet to join the Portuguese national team.

EndNote:

Thank you for reading this original write-up on Raphael Guerreiro’s Childhood Story and Biography. As you’ve probably observed, there is more about the Footballer than you probably knew about him.

Esteemed readers, please give us your view(s) about this article and also the Footballer in the comment section. For instance, does the Left-handed Footballer have more to offer in his career?