What happened to Kerlon? The forgotten seal dribbler who entertained the world

He was the world’s second most famous seal, after... er, Seal. Kerlon’s unique trick, the drible da foquinha (‘seal dribble’), is all that the once-promising playmaker has to show for his top-flight career – over at the age of just 29.

So where did it all go wrong for the thrilling youngster who became a YouTube sensation in September 2007, after being cleaned out by an irate defender while performing his trademark head juggle for Cruzeiro?

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Marcus Alves

Marcus Alves is a freelance journalist based in Lisbon and has written for FourFourTwo since 2012. He can also be found at BBC Sport, the Telegraph, Kicker and Yahoo. A former ESPN reporter, he covered 12 games in 15 days during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but can barely remember any of them. He blames cachaça for that.