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Everton striker Beto vows to prove the haters wrong after being criticised on social media

Everton striker Beto vows to prove the haters wrong after being criticised on social media during his first season in England.

The 26 year old Portuguese striker signed for the Toffees from Everton in the summer of 2023 for £25 million, but admits struggling in his debut season, where he five goals in 37 appearances across all competitions.

However, he mainly played the role of an impact substitute, with 27 of those appearances coming off the bench for 2023/24.

His adjustment from Italy to England was a tough one, but he remains motivated by criticism he’s received online, and by competition for a place in the starting lineup.

Before Everton, Beto started his career at Portuguese regional side Uniao Tires, while also working part-time at a fast-food restaurant KFC at the same time.

He joined third division side Olimpico Montijo in 2018, coming second in the scoring charts for what was his only season there, netting 21 times.

This helped him earn a move to Primeira Liga side Portimonense in 2019, and after a three year spell, he scored 13 goals in 47 appearances.

On the final day of the 2021 summer transfer window, Beto moved to Serie A outfit Udinese on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy, scored 11 goals in 29 games, and extended his stay until 2024. He left for Everton, having scored 22 goals in total from 65 appearances.

Seems it’s not gone as hoped for Beto, scored 5 goals in 37 games and hopes he can push on for 2024/25.

Now he’s spoke in an interview with BBC Sport, about whether being criticised on social media is motivation for him.

“We need to understand one thing: football is simple,” he says.

“We play football in our lives and they are working like eight- or 12-hour shifts and they come.

“Not everybody in this life is going to love you and not everybody in this life is going to hate you. In this sports life, for me, it’s OK.

“Sometimes I like to read my comments when I played badly or missed chances. They will say ‘Beto is [expletive] with missing chances’. But I like it because I say ‘OK, I will make this guy shut his mouth.’

“I take it personal too. When I’m in training the next week or the next day, I remember it and I say ‘No, this guy is not going to say this about me any more’ and I keep going.

“I need to have competition and I need to have people criticising me. I need to have haters. I need these kind of things in my life.

“Even when I was young it was always like this. When it is football I take it really seriously.

“When it is just you playing, there is no competition. Sometimes you can chill, you can miss training, and if you miss a chance you know you will play the next game.

“Competition is different. You need to always be alert.

“I have notes. I have screenshots from Facebook, YouTube – when they say something like I’m not good enough or something like that.

“I say OK, I take a screenshot, I put it on my notes and I read it.”

Talking about adjusting from life in Italy to England, he added: “It was really tough. I don’t think I adjusted well.

“Now I know the Premier League and what I can do to get better, to create more chances and help the team score more goals. I just need to be more open physically to do what I want to do.

“Last season was tough mentally and physically. We managed to do our objective so it was good. We went on holiday with free minds and now we come back fresh and new.”

In an interview with Liverpool Echo, he said: “I did well against Sheffield United, I had a good start. But against Brentford I played well but I felt in my body and mind, I needed to be more prepared for the Premier League. If you play three games in a row in the Premier League, your body needs to be prepared physically. That is why I am taking this pre-season really seriously because I needed to improve that part of my game. I had competition with Dom and [Youssef] Chermiti and they were training well. Dom came in and scored and as a striker we know, if you go out and a striker comes in and he scores, he has the advantage. The next game you know he is going to play.”

On scoring his first goal for Everton, he said: “It felt good because football is about confidence. For us strikers, there is no better way of getting confidence than scoring. You can play really well, get an assist but it is missing something. You feel like this if you are on the bench or come in for the last 15 minutes and don’t score. You need to go again and again. That goal was a really good team goal, we had about 30 passes, every player touched the ball. It was my first goal in the Premier League and I thought it was offside. It wasn’t, it was a goal and I felt I could build up from there, build the confidence and give the confidence to my team-mates. That is important.”

On his first season: “No. I say this to everybody, and everybody says ‘you are crazy, it was your first season’. It is because I am competitive. It was a hard season for Everton but it was a really good season because of all of the problems that we had. So for us players, as a team, it was a good season [having overcome those problems]. But for me, personally, no. I wanted to play more minutes. I wanted to score more goals. In my mind, when I played, even when I played less minutes, I had chances, but I didn’t finish them. So for me, it wasn’t a good season and, yeah, now I’m here and I’m ready to put my better version on it. I want to play and I will do everything to play and score.”

“We need to understand one thing: Football is simple. We play football in our lives, you know, and they [those who watch and comment] are working like eight or 12 hour shifts and they come. For them to [question me] it is normal, for me. I used to work in KFC. I supported Benfica. When Benfica lost, I would be disappointed. Even though I played football, I would say ‘this guy, that guy – I hate this guy’. It is normal. Not everybody in this life is going to love you and not everybody in this life is going to hate you. In this sports life, for me, it’s OK.”

On taking screenshots of the criticism he gets: “Sometimes I like to read my comments when I played badly or missed chances. I like to go and read the comments. They will say ‘ah Beto is s*** with the missing chances, blah, blah blah’. But I like it because I say: ‘OK, I will make this guy shut his mouth.’ I take it personal too, when I’m in the next week or the next day and I’m training, I remember it and I say: ‘No, this guy is not going to say this about me anymore.’ And I keep going, I keep going.”

This is how Twitter users reacted as Everton striker Beto vows to prove the haters wrong after being criticised on social media…

@1878SC: Not worked then has it

@skjones505: You do wonder why players ever sign on for a club that has such a toxic fan base

@jcotteri: Yes Beto lad. It’s your season. Show us!

@jay_smith190: Weren’t even bad same people that criticised Beto didn’t say a peep when DCL went what 4 months without scoring

@LiamT30EFC: See players see this shit and you’re meant to get behind them, he’s our player, our fan base pisses me right off

@Danthedon1878: How can u hate on the bloke honestly he’s so likeable

@toffeemoc: We really want him to succeed so keep hating! 🙌💙

@abbey1878: Beto’s camera roll full of screenshots of bonk from twitter calling him shit

@hughesnathan262: I really hope to god he does and he will 10+ this season you heard it here first😉🤫#UTFT!!!

@BrazilianblueT: Surely he’s got a enough motivation to land him at least the next 3 Ballon d’Ors then

@xMaccaEFC: After last season he must be the most motivated player to ever play the sport and if you’re reading this, you’re fucking atrocious lad

@FollowEverton: He’s loved. A bit of composure in his finishing this season please 🙏🏽

@lukeWilko1878: Oh come on Beto we all know Facebook mas aren’t the most knowledgeable on football 🤣

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