When Manchester City supporters hear that their new Brazilian signing was once nicknamed 'Mini Balotelli,' they may not know whether to laugh or worry. The truth is they should do neither. The bleached-blonde mohawk that earned Allan Elias that label was inspired by childhood idol Neymar — and the player himself is a world away from the chaos that surrounded the Italian striker.

City's £34 million capture from Palmeiras is better understood as a late bloomer forged by hardship — a winger whose greatest quality is not flair but resilience, and whose path to the Premier League is as moving as it is improbable.

A life marked by loss

Allan's story begins in pain. In 2019, his former Figueirense teammate Vitor Isaias perished in the fire at Flamengo's academy accommodation that claimed 10 lives. The tragedy shook Allan deeply enough that his family relocated to São Paulo to be closer to him.

Grief did not stop there. During the pandemic, his sister Leticia died of Covid-19. The 'L' gesture Allan makes with his hands after scoring is a tribute to her. A tattoo on his body commemorates his best friend Gustavo Paco, who was killed in a motorcycle accident the day after the two had spent an afternoon playing football on the beach together.

These losses would have broken many people. For Allan, they became fuel.

Almost discarded by Palmeiras

Even within football, success was far from guaranteed. As recently as late 2024, Allan feared his Palmeiras career was finished, watching as younger players were promoted ahead of him. Before his final U20 appearance, he wept with his parents, convinced it was all over.

What happened next changed everything. Coach Abel Ferreira pulled him aside during training and informed him that Palmeiras had no intention of letting him go — a new contract was coming. Ferreira had spotted something the statistics had not yet captured.

Allan made his senior debut in January 2025, scoring his first goal the following month. His parents' filmed celebrations went viral across Brazil. By the summer, he had claimed the right-wing berth at the FIFA Club World Cup — the very position vacated by Estevao ahead of his move to Chelsea — and started earning wider recognition.

What Palmeiras coaches say