Juninho Pernambucano: 'There are thousands of George Floyds in Brazil'

The former Lyon midfielder on racism, his country's unravelling under Jair Bolsonaro and how Brazilians are taught to think only about money

Like so many other footballers and former professionals, Juninho Pernambucano could easily stay silent and not discuss the more important issues in life. But that, according to the former Lyon player and Brazil international, would be a betrayal of his principles.

We have been talking for 30 minutes when he breaks down in tears for the first time during an interview that lasts for two and a half hours. The situation in his native Brazil is out of control, the president Jair Bolsonaro having failed miserably to tackle coronavirus. This week the country went past 65,000 deaths and had almost 50,000 new cases in a day. The total number of cases has gone past 1.6 million. It is the second worst-hit country in the world.