“Escaping the war has made me stronger …”

Camavinga's is a story of overcoming. Or rather that of his parents, since the new Real Madrid player (18 years old) had to live a very tough personal situation that he was not yet aware of because he was a baby. He was born on November 10, 2002 in the Mejide refugee camp, in Angola, where his parents, Celestino and Sofía fled the war in the Congo. Shortly after the whole family (he is the third of six children) left for Lille, although they settled in the small town of Fougeres, in French Brittany.

“Obviously having to escape from the war has been able to help me, to make me stronger. But above all, my family has helped me a lot and when I play, I play for them. This has made me stronger ”, said the player in his presentation. Florentino Pérez, in his speech, also recalled the adversities they have had to overcome: “Your parents, Celestino and Sofía, and your siblings know very well what sacrifice is and the struggle to do facing the adversities of life. From your parents and your family you have learned some principles that will always accompany you and help you overcome the greatest difficulties you may have.

Camavinga's family's problems don't end there. He starts playing football very young at Drapeau Fougeres and soon sparks the interest of Rennes. This coincides with another dramatic event: in 2013, when the player was only eleven years old, the family house in Fougeres burned down completely, losing all their material goods and also documents (this caused him to later have problems to achieve French nationalization ). Finally, His first club set up a charity chain to help the family and help them get ahead.

Camavinga signed for Rennes became the hope of his family, with whom he is deeply united, to get ahead. His career at Rennes has been meteoric, always ahead of his age, and at the age of 18 he had the definitive opportunity to sign for Real Madrid and leave behind all the stones in the path that life has placed him almost from the day. of his birth.