Alexandre Pato

Internacional

Pato started his career at Internacional's youth teams, gaining a lot of visibility on his skills, strength and technique. At 16, he was already playing in the Brazilian under-20 championship, where Inter defeated Grêmio 4–0 in the final. Pato was that tournament's top scorer. Pato signed his first professional contract with Internacional to compete in the Brazilian championship of 2006 with the first team. At the age of 17, in November that same year, his debut finally happened at the Estádio Palestra Itália against São Paulo team Palmeiras for the Campeonato Brasileiro. Alexandre Pato met and surpassed any and all expectations of what was expected of him as he scored his first professional goal within the first minute of the game. The rest of his participation was spent dribbling and confusing defenders as he made two assists (and almost scoring another himself) to help Internacional rout Palmeiras 4–1. He was substituted off in the 77th minute. Pato was included in the Internacional squad that won the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. He scored against Egyptian club Al Ahly in the semi-finals. At the age of 17 years and 102 days, this made Pato the youngest goalscorer at a senior men's FIFA tournament. He broke the record of Pelé, who was 17 years and 239 days old when he scored against Wales at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Keeping up with his promising figure, Pato debuted at the Campeonato Gaúcho on 24 February against Veranópolis and scored a goal in the 2–1…

After gaining prominence at club level, Pato was called up for the youth teams of Brazil. He helped Brazil win the 2007 South American Youth Championship, which qualified the country for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and was selected by Brazil coach Dunga for the 2008 Summer Olympics. He scored his first goal for the senior Brazilian team on his debut against Sweden at the Emirates Stadium, London, on 26 March 2008, beating Pelé's record of scoring a goal within seconds of his full international debut. He took part at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, where he played only in the first round match against Egypt. However, he was not called by Dunga to play in the 2010 World Cup. Pato became a regular under new coach Mano Menezes, wearing the number 9 jersey. He scored a goal in Brazil's 2–0 friendly win over the United States on 10 August 2010. He scored the second goal in Brazil's 3–0 win against Iran on 7 October 2010. Pato's success in the Brazil national team continued as he again scored in a friendly match against Ukraine, where they won 2–0. Pato also participated in the 2011 Copa América, and scored a brace in the group stage against Ecuador. Pato was named to the Brazil Olympic Football team for the London 2012 Olympics. He scored his nation's opening goal against Belarus at Old Trafford from a header, as Brazil came from behind to win the match 3–1. On 15 August 2012, Pato scored twice as Brazil beat Sweden 3–0 in the final international match at the…

A quick, agile, and creative forward, Pato was regarded as a promising young footballer in his youth. Former managers Dunga and Carlo Ancelotti compared his ability to that of Brazilian attacking players such as Careca, Kaká, Romário and Ronaldo. A versatile forward, he was capable of playing across the front line, including as a striker, supporting forward, or winger. Despite being predominantly right-footed, he was able to strike the ball with both feet, dribble past opponents, create chances for teammates, and contribute in aerial situations. In 2010, Don Balón listed him as one of the 100 most talented young players born after 1989. As his career progressed with Milan, however, he suffered numerous recurring injuries which affected his pace, fitness, consistency and mobility, and which limited his amount of playing time at a young age. As a result, he is regarded by some in the media to have failed to live up to his initial potential. His goal celebration would often see him make a 'heart' gesture.

Pato said in an interview with the Brazilian television program Esporte Espetacular that, at age 11, he broke his arm. Doctors found a tumor in the arm and feared that it needed to be amputated. His surgery to remove the tumor was successful, however. In 2007, Pato was engaged to Brazilian actress Sthefany Brito. They mutually split up in January 2009. They got back together, and married on 7 July 2009 in a ceremony at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro. The marriage lasted less than 10 months; the couple divorced on 21 April 2010, with Brito citing Pato's constant partying as the reason for their split. In 2010, he had a brief romance with Miss Brazil 2010, Débora Lyra. On 2 July 2013, after two-and-a-half-year relationship, Pato broke up with girlfriend Barbara Berlusconi, a director of AC Milan and daughter of club owner Silvio Berlusconi. At the end of 2014, Pato began dating Brazilian actress, model, and television presenter Fiorella Mattheis. They separated on 4 July 2017. He is currently married to Rebeca Abravanel, television presenter and the daughter of SBT owner Silvio Santos. Pato is a Christian. After going to church once with Rebeca Abravanel before they were married, Pato described the impact it had on him by saying: "Man, it was a revelation. The Bible had all the answers I was looking for. I turned my head to the sky and said, 'Lord, I no longer want this life.' That day my life changed forever." In November 2024, he began his career as a sports…