Allan Elias to Man City: How Brazilian overcame tragedy to go from ‘Mini Balotelli’ to Palmeiras’ underrated gem | Football News

Manchester City supporters might not know whether to be amused or afraid to hear that Allan Elias’ nickname as a kid was ‘Mini Balotelli’ – a reference to the bleached-blonde mohawk haircut that had in fact been inspired by childhood hero Neymar.

They should not be concerned. Allan’s £34m move from Palmeiras to the Premier League looks a smart signing by City, a talented and versatile player ready to contribute. With Allan, it is more work ethic than wonderkid as wingers go. And his story is inspiring.

Allan’s beginnings are not just humble but tragic. The death of his old Figueirense teammate Vitor Isaias in a fire at Flamengo’s academy accommodation in 2019 that killed 10 people had a profound effect. His family moved to Sao Paulo to be near him.

During the pandemic, Allan’s sister Leticia died due to Covid-19. The ‘L’ gesture made with his hands after scoring is in her honour. There is the tattoo of best friend Gustavo Paco, who died in a motorcycle accident the day after the pair had played on the beach.

It is a life blighted by misfortune but also its own little miracle. This football success was not supposed to happen for Allan. He felt close to leaving Palmeiras for very different reasons as recently as late 2024, having seen so many others promoted ahead of him.

He cried with his parents before his final U20 game, thinking it was all over. Approaching 21 and seemingly overlooked by his own club, coach Abel Ferreira then pulled him aside in training to let him know that he would be getting a new contract.

The rest is history. Allan emerged as a key player for Palmeiras over the past 18 months, no teenage prodigy but an underrated gem. “Allan is a different player,” his former coach Lucas Andrade tells Sky Sports. “He needed more time, but now he is at the same level.”

Andrade was Allan’s coach at U15 and U20 level at Palmeiras. “He scored a lot of goals.” But it was at a youth tournament in England of all places that he became convinced. “That is when I realised Allan had the level to play here one day,” he says.

“He played very well against Chelsea, against Tottenham. The final was Manchester City against Chelsea. And I watched the game with Allan in the crowd. And now, many years later, he has come back to England to play for Manchester City. It is a very nice story.”

His youth coach might have believed but others had not seen it. Those tears before his final U20 appearance were because Allan did not know what was coming next. But Ferreira spotted something and told the sporting director that he must stay.

He made his senior debut in January of last year, scoring his first goal the next month. His parents went viral in Brazil after filming their joyful celebrations. By the summer, Allan was a starter at the Club World Cup in what had been Estevao’s right-wing spot.

Palmeiras reached the quarter-finals, with Estevao, on the eve of his big move to Chelsea, playing in a more advanced role while Allan did the dirty work on the wing. It reflected the trust of the coach, a recognition that he can do both sides of the game.

That was Ferreira’s explanation for the interest in Allan with the City transfer imminent. “Teams want players like Allan because he does what 90 per cent of the wingers here cannot do,” he explained. “Attack and defend down the flank for the full 90 minutes.”

It is why the statistics do not necessarily do Allan justice. In this season’s Brazilian championship, for example, he has four goals and three assists in 21 appearances. There are more compelling highlights compilations around but he has his moments.

Most notably, he set up the first goal and won the penalty for the last one in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores semi-final against Liga de Quito last year. Palmeiras won the game 4-0 to turn around a three-goal deficit from the tie in the altitude of Ecuador.

One of his more famous goals for Palmeiras came against Flamengo when he put his head in where it hurt to score in a 3-0 win in May. Former Manchester United player Guillermo Varela was threatening to take his block off with an ill-judged scissor-kick.

There is grit to his game but he is a dribbler as well, currently ranking second in the Brazilian top flight for successful take-ons this season. He is particularly fond of that chop inside onto his stronger left foot. “He is very good one-vs-one,” says Andrade.

Superficially, there are some similarities with Savio, the compatriot he is replacing at City. Andrade has worked with both. “They are similar in some ways. Both are very good dribblers. But I think Allan is more strong and Savio is more technical,” he reveals.

But Allan’s greatest asset is less obvious than strength or technique. It is the resilience that he has had to show in life and the adaptability that he has shown on the pitch. “I think he is a tactical player,” says Andrade. “Technical, but he is a tactical player too.”

For Palmeiras, he has been the joker in the pack. “Allan can play in the middle, can play in both sides of attack. Helps a lot in defence. In the academy, he played more times in the middle. But in the first team, he plays on the side, especially on the right side.”

More recently, his versatility has been evident with him filling in on the right of Ferreira’s 3-4-1-2 formation. Allan is essentially an attacking right wing-back, cutting inside on his left foot. It is a demanding role that requires as much without the ball as with it.

“I think this characteristic is so important in the Premier League. Being just technical today is not possible.” Particularly under Enzo Maresca. “With Maresca, I think the players change. Play inside, play outside. It is a characteristic of Allan, his versatility.”

It is an interesting observation. Maresca is regarded as a disciple of Pep Guardiola, an advocate of positional play. But this ability to switch positions is also a feature of his tactics. “The important thing for me in the Maresca style is mobility,” argues Andrade.

“I think Allan is a perfect player for this because he plays on both sides and in the middle. Savio has a position where he normally just plays on the right side and has a great capacity here. But I think the other option with this coach is important.”

From Mini Balotelli to major Brazilian signing, there is confidence that he is ready for this. “I believe he can make a good impact in the Premier League.” But that is perhaps the smaller story given all that Allan has overcome. The triumph is just making it here.