A young Igor Thiago could not have known he would one day break the record for the most goals by a Brazilian player in a Premier League season.
But the Brentford forward has always had one thing clear in his mind – nothing would stop him from becoming a professional footballer.
That is the promise he made to his mother Maria Diva when he was growing up in Cidade Ocidental, a small town in central Brazil.
He has never forgotten the day they went to a family meal where everyone was supposed to bring a dish.
Raising four children on her own and working as a refuse collector on a minimum wage, Diva did not have it easy and arrived empty-handed.
It was then that Thiago heard a close relative say she would only take her children out to eat at other people's expense. Diva felt humiliated and left in tears.
"From today on, no-one in this life is going to humiliate you any more," Thiago told her on the way home.
"I'm going to become a footballer, you'll see. Everyone will know me one day."
The 24-year-old has found the back of the net 16 times in the Premier League this season.
Read more on Thiago’s journey to Brentford
