He might be earning a six-figure salary as he lights up the Premier League, but Gabriel Jesus will only be getting 'pocket money' from his controlling mum, his brother claims.

The famously overbearing mother of Manchester City's new £27million wonderkid has always been firmly in charge of his affairs, both on and off the field.

And ever since his first professional contract with Brazilian side Palmeiras two years ago, Vera Lucia Diniz de Jesus has made sure she received her son's salary so she can pass on only as much as he needs - 'to keep his feet on the ground'.

Strict Vera, who raised her four children alone in a poor district of Sao Paulo, reportedly controls almost every aspect of her famous son's life, from the food he eats to where he goes out, and even the girls he meets.

Tough but fair! Gabriel Jesus's mother Vera Lucia Diniz de Jesus, both pictured, says she has intercepted the Manchester City footballer's salary ever since he signed his first contract with Brazilian side Palmeiras 'to keep his feet on the ground'

Motherly love: Jesus, 19, is hotly tipped to become Manchester City and the Premier League's next superstar but his strict mother still controls every aspect of his life - from the food he eats to where he goes out and even the girls he meets

Humble beginnings: Rather than feeling trapped, Jesus appreciates his mother's influence over his life. He describes Vera, who raised four children by herself in a poor district of Sao Paulo, as a 'woman warrior'

Always be my baby: He may have signed for Manchester city for an eye-watering £27million from Brazilian side Palmeiras, but Vera still refers to her little boy by his nickname 'Baby' - and forbids him from going out on the town, drinking alcohol or smoking

His roof, her rules! Vera, who moved to Manchester to help him settle down at his new club, also has strict rules for the Brazilian starlet when it comes to WAGs. In a recent interview she said potential girlfriends have to 'live by her rules' and 'there will be no heavy kissing'

The player once described her as 'harder to dribble than any defender I've ever faced'.

In a touching Instagram post, he also referred to her as a 'woman warrior who always took care of me and my brothers'.

And the matriarch, who has travelled with the footballer as he settles in Manchester, has vowed to continue to keep her son in line even as he turns into English football's hottest property.

It will mean making sure Gabriel eats her own, low calorie version of his favourite dish, strogonoff.

And continuing to make his daily shake of yoghurt, bananas and oats, again Vera's own recipe which she claims helps stave off her son's intestinal cramps, which 'run in the family'.

Gabriel - who she calls by her nickname 'Baby' - is also banned from going out on the town, drinking alcohol or smoking, while would-be WAGS of the new soccer sensation should also be warned.

Vera recently said in an interview: 'Girlfriends have to live by my rules, and there'll be no heavy kissing. Staying over, only once in a while.

'I will never accept that my son disrespects the daughters of others. No son of mine is going to get someone else's daughter pregnant. I demand respect because I raised all three of them on my own, with the help of God.'

And she revealed that the striker 'must lower his head when I speak to him. I may be good natured, but I demand to be respected. Gabriel has always been mischievous, but at least he's never disrespected me.'

A mother's cooking: To help her 'baby' settle in a new country and city at the tender age of 19, she continues to look after him and make him a low calorie version of his favourite dish, strogonoff, as well as a daily shake of yoghurt, bananas and oats

Strict mum: Such is Vera's strictness that Jesus, far left when he was younger, 'must lower his head' when she speaks to him. 'I may be good natured, but I demand to be respected,' she said in a recent interview. 'Gabriel has always been mischievous, but at least he's never disrespected me'

As you wish: To prove he adheres to her rules, the self-confessed mummy's boy Gabriel, top right, has a tattoo which reads: 'Every step I make, every road I take, every path I choose, your hand will guide me, Vera Lucia'

Home: Vera raised Gabriel, his brothers Caique and Felipe, now 24 and 26, and daughter Emanuele, 32, while working as a domestic maid in the impoverished Jardim Peri district, above, in Sao Paulo

Abandoned: Vera raised Gabriel and his three siblings by herself in the impoverished Jardim Peri neighbourhood in Sao Paul, above

Resilient: Despite being left alone to raise four children, Vera, centre, has not held a grudge against her ex-husband, saying: 'He wasn't a bad person, but I was left alone. I asked God to give me wisdom and health'

Double life: After discovering his love - and talent - for the game playing street football, Gabriel played for a host of local clubs in Jardim Peri including Associação Atlética Anhanguera. Vera would wake up at 6am in the morning to get him ready for training before spending the day cleaning the houses of the wealthy

In an interview with Yahoo Brasil in September last year, Gabriel's older brother Caique said that his mother controls the star's salary, passing on only pocket money to her son.

He also stated that nightclubs, smoking and other activities boys his age might enjoy are also prohibited. He said: 'But Gabriel was never that interested in partying. His thing is barbecues with his family.'

To prove it, self-confessed mummy's boy Gabriel has a tattoo on his body which reads: 'Every step I make, every road I take, every path I choose, your hand will guide me, Vera Lucia.'

The player explained: 'The tattoo I had done, I didn't tell her that I was going to do it, but when I got home, my mother was much calmer when she saw that her name was on it.

'She liked it more than I did, so she didn't scold me too much. She controls me a lot with this question of tattoos, she doesn't let me go out getting myself tattooed.'

I tell him to keep his eye on the game, to pick up rebounds. Stop trying to do those chips over defenders. I followed him through the football schools so I picked up a thing or two Gabriel Jesus's mother, Vera Lucia Diniz de Jesus

Meanwhile, even on the pitch Gabriel says he can't escape his mother's nagging. While at Palmeiras, with which he won the Brazilian Serie A league last year, the footballer nicknamed her 'Marcelo Oliveira', the name of the club's manager at the time, because she would also give him more instructions on how he should play than the coach.

Vera recently said she calls him before every game 'to give him some tips'. She said: 'I tell him that if he scores a goal, that's great.

'But if he doesn't, he'll be welcomed back home with open arms the same way. I tell him to keep his eye on the game, to pick up rebounds.

'Stop trying to do those chips over defenders. I followed him through the football schools so I picked up a thing or two.'

After Brazil's 3-0 victory against Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier last September, in which Gabriel scored two goals, the player told how his mother sent him a text message saying: 'Gabriel, learn, keep watch so you don't go offside. You went offside twice.'

Backseat manager! Vera's nagging follows Gabriel on the pitch too. She has revealed that even today, as he takes the field for one of Europe's biggest teams, she calls him to give him 'some tips' before every match. Circled: Jesus as a youngster

On the sidelines: While her was playing for his boyhood club Palmeiras, Gabriel nicknamed her her 'Marcelo Oliveira', the name of the club's manager at the time, because she gave him more instructions than his own coach

Mother knows best: He has already scored three goals for Manchester City since joining up with the former champions last month, Vera is never short of tips for her son. 'I tell him to keep his eye on the game, to pick up rebounds. Stop trying to do those chips over defenders,' she says

He said: 'She didn't even congratulate me on my goals. She criticises me more than she praises me. I told her that her comment could have been a little nicer.'

A month later, during Brazil's match against Venezuela, Lucia phoned in to the half time show on Globo TV, which was broadcasting the game, to complain that Gabriel had strayed offside - even though he had also put Brazil ahead in the first half.

Asked if he deserved a kiss or an 'earfull' for his first half performance, she said: 'I suppose a kiss for the goal. And an earful for going offside.'

My mum is always nagging me, but I will always want her to nag more. That's why I'm who I am today, even though I'm just 19, I've been responsible from an early age Gabriel Jesus

She added that before the match she phoned him and had 'a special conversation with him, because Neymar wasn't playing and because of the fear of knowing him mother was watching.

'I was afraid of the responsibility he was feeling, but I told him he was capable and would have a good game.'

After his goal Gabriel had celebrated by pretending to make a phone call to his mother. He later explained: 'It was a joke with my friends, a 'hello, mother'. My friends know why. My mother knows too. It was a celebration for them.'

And he insists he is a mummy's boy and wouldn't want her to be any different, saying: 'My mum is always nagging me, but I will always want her to nag more.

'That's why I'm who I am today, even though I'm just 19, I've been responsible from an early age.

Harshest critic: Even when her superstar son scored twice in Brazil's 3-0 victory against Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier last September, she sent him a text message saying: 'Gabriel, learn, keep watch so you don't go offside. You went offside twice'

On the ball: Then again, a month later when he was playing against Venezuela, Vera phoned in the half-time show to complain that Gabriel had strayed outside

Proud son: Despite her constant nagging, Gabriel is a self-confessed mummy's boy and says he would not want her to be any different, adding: 'My mum is always nagging me, but I will always want her to nag more. That's why I'm who I am today'

'When I was younger I always saw my friends with their mothers and fathers and felt a little jealous of them for having a father close by.

'But it is impossible, when your mother cares for you and your brothers and sister in the way that my mother did, to remember you don't have a father.

'She always supported me in everything and when she needed to beat me she did, without remorse. For me she was always my mother and my father.'

She always supported me in everything and when she needed to beat me she did, without remorse. For me she was always my mother and my father Gabriel Jesus

Vera Lucia raised Gabriel Jesus, his brothers Caique and Felipe, now 24 and 26, and daughter Emanuele, 32, while working as a domestic maid in the impoverished Jardim Peri district in the north of Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city.

The doting mother, who looked after the children by herself, said: 'He wasn't a bad person, but I was left alone. I asked God to give me wisdom and health. I didn't ask him for money because you don't ask God for money. Money, we have to find ourselves.'

When her eldest child, daughter Emanuele, lost her husband in a motorcycle accident she moved back home with her own children, Rian, now 15 and Amanda, 16.

Despite her full home, Lucia said she would wake up at 6am to get Gabriel ready for football training, before going out to spend the day cleaning the homes of the wealthy.

Role model: Gabriel, who signed a youth contract with Brazilian top flight team Palmeiras in 2013, admits he was jealous of his friends who grew up with a dad but goes on to say that Vera was always 'my mother and my father'

Setting an example: Vera always encouraged her youngest son Gabriel to follow his footballing dreams but also made him pay attention to his school work, telling him: 'Poor and black people need to study hard'

But even while encouraging her youngest son to go after his dream to play football, she insisted he be just as dedicated to his school work because 'poor and black people need to study hard'.

She said: 'He finished his studies like my other children. I was more difficult the more involved he was in football, but I made him go after his school work and when he had to miss a class get the notes from his schoolfriends. I always told him that people like us needed to study hard to be someone in life.'

He finished his studies like my other children. I was more difficult the more involved he was in football, but I made him go after his school work and when he had to miss a class get the notes from his schoolfriends Gabriel Jesus's mother, Vera Lucia Diniz de Jesus

Gabriel's football prowess paid off and in 2013 he signed a youth contract with top flight side Palmeiras, making his senior debut two years later.

Last year he helped the team win the league and won Bola de Ouro for player of the season. But even as her son became a superstar in his home country, Lucia, who stopped working after developing tendinitis in her arm, made sure he didn't succumb to the trappings of fame and money, even taking his salary and giving him a fraction in pocket money.

She explained: 'I know how difficult the football world is. I don't want to overburden him, I don't speak about football at home. He spends his time watching TV, playing videogame, spending time with his friends and playing. Then then go and play football in the yard, and I scold them for dirtying the wall.'

And she insists her super strict, hands-on approach to her son's footballing career has made him a different kind of player, better prepared for the stardom that is just around the corner.

Superstar: Before signing for Manchester City for a reported £27million, he helped Palmeiras win the Brazilian league and claimed the Bola de Ouro for player of the season

She said: 'Every hard work has its recompense. Gabriel never gave me any headaches with material things, wanting expensive clothes and brands. He saw how hard I worked. He isn't someone who takes his money and splashes out, spending everything.

'He has had a really good education, a family base, and this will stand him in good stead for any change of course that comes his way.'

Gabriel agrees. In a recent interview he said: 'I come from a poor community and I still go back there whenever I can, and I think that makes it easier to cope with fame and being on TV. I'm a normal lad, I've always been quite humble and I like simple things. 'And if I get out of line, I know my mother will jump on me, so I think that helps me a lot.'