AC Milan had a team full of superstars when David Beckham twice joined them on loan from LA Galaxy, in 2009 and 2010 - but Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato reveals he was particularly enamoured with the Englishman.
"I’ve always admired David, not just for what he achieved on the pitch but for everything he transmitted off it," Pato exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "He used to leave all of his toiletries in the dressing room – creams, colognes, stuff like that.
"I’d wait for everyone to leave and then looked at what aftershave he was wearing. It became my fragrance as well and I haven’t changed it – it smelled so good. I still wear it today."
While Beckham failed to win a trophy at Milan, Pato full enjoyed his experience playing for a team containing the likes of Ronaldinho, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva.
His initial move to the club from Internacional in 2007, though, came with a difficult decision to make, with a host of European clubs all chasing his signature. While still only 17 and having made fewer than 30 senior appearances in Brazil, Pato eventually settled on the Italian giants.
"I was doing very well at Internacional. To be honest, I was quite happy there, but I simply couldn’t reject an offer from a club like Milan. It was basically the best team in the world at the time, with Ronaldo – my idol – plus Kaka, Paolo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Serginho, Emerson, Dida... I could go on!
"I received enquiries from Ajax, PSV, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid, but I said yes to Milan because they were the best team in the world."
But Milan didn't roll out the red carpet for the Brazilian wonderkid rocking up to his first training sessions at the club - far from it. Instead, he was welcomed to Europe with some brute force from one of his team-mates.
"Funny story: Kakha Kaladze smashed me in one of my first sessions and I was like, ‘Jesus, what was that about?’ I was angry. The other Brazilian guys said to me, 'Now you have to smash him even harder. If anything happens, we’ll protect you.'
"So, Kakha picks up the ball, I sprint across and absolutely annihilate him. He goes flying. He eventually got up, glared at me and I thought, ‘God, he’s going to kill me for that’. But he said, 'Bravo! That’s how you play, boy.' We all laughed."
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