Manchester United signs Homeless World Cup prodigy

A young footballer whose talent for was first nurtured by the Homeless World Cup has been signed to Manchester United in a £7.4m deal.

Bebe, aged 20, whose real name is, Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, was raised in a Portuguese orphanage having spent part of his childhood living on the streets. He was living in a shelter on the outskirts of Lisbon when he was approached by the Portuguese Homeless World Cup partner organisation CAIS.

The manager of Portugal’s national homeless world cup team Gonçalo Sequeira dos Santos of CAIS was among the first to congratulate Bebe on his news.

He said: ‘Bebe is a responsible person, with one big heart, and an all round awesome boy. We are truly happy for this opportunity he has to make his dream come true.’

In a press conference Bebe was asked whether his story was like a fairytale. He replied: ‘I feel very good. It’s an opportunity that has been given to me and I must grab it.’

Manchester’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson said it was not a fairytale, but is an inspiration to any young player who didn’t have the breaks early in their career.

Bebe did not play for Portugal in the Homeless World Cup but did play for CAIS and in the 2009 European Street Football Festival in Bosnia.

The Homeless World Cup, a social enterprise, works with 64 national grass roots football projects reaching 30,000 homeless players.

The eighth Homeless World Cup takes place in Rio, Brazil, from 19-26 September on Copacabana Beach.

Find out more about the Homeless World Cup at www.homelessworldcup.org