A biography for Hulkhasn’t been written yet.
“There is always speculation about me and Palmeiras, precisely because of the affection I have for the team and I have made it clear I identify with Palmeiras.”
“I can only promise one thing: I will never celebrate a goal against Porto because of my respect for the fans and the club.”
“I decided to go to Zenit because I had won almost every competition at Porto and I like new challenges in my career.”
“I really liked imitating the Hulk when I was a little kid. My dad enjoyed it and always asked me to imitate him and gave me the nickname.”
“Thiago Silva is a great player. As I have always said, I think he is one of the best defenders in the world and he will always help inspire me to become one of the best.”
“My future is in the hands of God.”
“The Selecao squad have always been a great bunch, ever since I was first called up.”
“At a World Cup it's hard to look much further than the traditional big-name teams: history backs that up.”
“Ronaldo is my idol. He's the best player I've ever seen play. He's an inspiration to me to work hard every day.”
“I would say that I am a professional who always gives his utmost to be the best in what he does.”
“In life you're learning every day.”
“I know Pereira well. He's a very good coach who is ambitious.”
“At Porto, I play out wide, on the right, with two other attackers. But I can play in any position in the attack, I have even played in the middle before.”
“When there is a World Cup the world stops, the country stops, everyone is hugging each other, whether old or young, everyone stops just to enjoy the football.”
“I left Brazil very early, at age 18, to go to Japan and I spent three-and-a-half years there. Then I went to Porto, everything happened so fast in my life, there was recognition throughout Europe.”
“There are some players who lacked respect for me. There were some things said in public that should not have been said, not in interviews.”
“I hope to win the Confederations Cup.”
“It's normal to criticise people you are not familiar with.”
“I like English football, Spanish football, Italian football. I like all of them.”
“Footballers are always subject to criticism, but the world knows how good a player Neymar is and knows about the quality in his game.”