Brazilian Junior Moraes, a forward for Shakhtar Donetsk, arrived this Thursday morning at Guarulhos International Airport, after days of tension in Ukraine. Naturalized Ukrainian since 2019, the athlete ran the risk of being called up by the local army for the war against Russia.
On Saturday, Junior managed to leave the country for Moldova. From there he went to France, where he boarded a flight to Brazil.
In Ukraine, the player was housed in a hotel in Kiev, the country’s capital, along with other Brazilian players. Upon arrival in Brazil, Junior tried to describe the feeling of being in the middle of a war.
“It was a great psychological pressure, because where we were was the focus. The Russian army was getting closer and closer, we couldn’t find a solution to leave. Every minute was harrowing, difficult,” he said.
“It’s hard to say. I don’t wish the war on anyone, I’m just relieved to be with my family, hugging them, from the beginning was the only thing I thought about”, he added.
Junior Moraes is 34 years old and was revealed by Santos. At Peixe, he scored the title goal of the Paulista championship 2007, against São Caetano. In Brazil, he also accumulates passages through Ponte Preta and Santo André. In Europe, he played in Romania, Bulgaria, but it was in Ukraine that he stood out the most. In the country, he spent time at Dynamo Kiev and, after a brief spell in China, joined Shakhtar Donetsk in 2017, his current club.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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