Following Man. City’s club-record £19 million purchase of Jô in 2008, the world of football anticipated big things from a 21-year-old Brazilian who consistently bagged goals for Corinthians and CSKA Moscow prior to making the switch to England.

Ten years on, and several failed club spells accompanied by alcohol-related issues later, Jô has finally rekindled his form of old at Japanese club Nagoya Grampus.

Sitting pretty at the top of the highly competitive J-League scoring charts with an impressive 20 goals and four assists from his 27 league appearances this season, the now 31-year-old need a bit more time to blossom than your usual centre-forward.

Comparing with his Premier League stats, Jô tallied an average of one goal every eight games (6 in 48) during spells at Everton and Man. City.

It’s fair to say he’s travelled well despite not scoring well throughout his career. He returned to his native Brazil after a spell in Turkey at Galatasaray before going on to play in Dubai, China and again Brazil before ending up in Japan.

Will we be seeing Jô blessing the European football scene again anytime soon? I highly doubt it, and as nostalgic as it would be, he seems to be coping perfectly fine and enjoying his football where he is.

(Featured image courtesy of The Japan Times.)