Football fans have raised concerns over the health of Brazilian icon Adriano after he was spotted drinking beer barefoot in the street.
The 42-year-old, who scored 27 goals across 48 games for Brazil between 2000 and 2010, struggled with alcoholism and depression during his playing career.
Adriano, who retired in 2016 and is best known for his time at Italian club Inter Milan, looks almost unrecognisable in a new viral social media clip which has over six million views.
The video shows Adriano intoxicated – but some fans have claimed that Adriano no longer struggles with alcohol issues – and insist he was simply visiting friends.
‘Why do many Brazilian footballers struggle like this after retirement?’ @Jiji_Byte wrote alongside the video of Adriano, leading to a series of worried comments.
But @GingaBonitoHub responded: ‘Adriano is FAR from poor [and] he also doesn’t have a drinking problem. He lives in a multimillion dollar apartment in Rio.
‘He still visits this favelas because he chooses to. Unlike many footballers, Adriano never abandoned his roots or his childhood friends from the favelas.’
Adriano’s battle with alcoholism and depression started when he was playing for Inter in Italy, following the death of his father.
In a 2018 interview with Brazilian outlet R7, Adriano said: ‘Only I know how much I suffered.
‘The death of my father left me with this huge void, I felt very lonely. After his death everything got worse, because I isolated myself.
‘I was alone in Italy, sad and depressed, and then I started drinking. I only felt happy when I was drinking, I’d do it every night.
‘I drank everything I could get my hands on: wine, whisky, vodka, beer. Lots of beer. I didn’t stop drinking and in the end I had to leave Inter.’
Adriano entered retirement at the age of 34 eight years ago having clinched 14 trophies, including four Serie A titles with Inter in the Italian top-flight.