Carlos Henrique Raposo, nicknamed ‘The Kaiser’ for his uncanny resemblance to Franz Beckenbauer or ‘Forrest Gump,’ planned a 13-year career as a professional footballer, all the while avoiding any actual gameplay.
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Tricking the Brazilian league
His deceptive maneuvers spanned renowned clubs like Botafogo, Flamengo, Bangu, Fluminense, Vasco da Gama, America, Puebla in Mexico, El Paso in the United States, and Ajaccio in France. Kaiser, attributing his actions to seeking retribution for the often cheated players, carved a unique niche in the world of football. He was known to have said,
“The clubs have cheated the players a lot. Someone had to take revenge for all of them”
Despite achieving an iconic status, Kaiser grappled with a obvious flaw – his relationship with the ball, as sadly highlighted by former Real Madrid player, Ricardo Rocha in ‘The Greatest Footballer Never To Play Football’.
“Kaiser has been one of the most iconic figures in world football. He only had one problem: the ball”
Noteworthy in his football escapades was a brief six-month sojourn with Puebla in Mexico, paving the way for subsequent contracts with Botafogo, Flamengo, and Fluminense.
Remarkably, Kaiser, backed by friends like Carlos Alberto Torres, Renato Gaucho, Ricardo Rocha, Romario, Edmundo, and Gaucho, obtained these contracts without any intention of setting foot on the field.
His modus operandi included feigning injuries and strategically skipping training sessions. Digging deeper, he revealed he had the backing of players and journalists.
“The players knew about it, but they were all friends of mine. The journalists (whom he paid to publish reports)… nobody chased me,”
In a encounter against Coritiba, Kaiser found himself on the brink of playing, only to engage in an altercation with fans, resulting in his expulsion before the match commenced. Skilled in the art of duping medical professionals, he once fabricated a non-existent dental issue to sidestep playing.
The Greatest Footballer Never To Play Football
The documentary film ‘The Greatest Footballer Never To Play Football‘ serves as a platform for Kaiser’s unabashed confession: “I’m the greatest footballer who never played football. I slept with 1,000 women and pretended to be injured my whole career.” His self-proclaimed title as the ultimate con man in Brazilian football reflects nearly three decades spent as a professional footballer without stepping onto the pitch.
In a revealing 2018 interview with The Sun, Kaiser laid bare his exploits, stating, “Just being a football player made me a magnet for women. I was a sex addict, like Michael Douglas. I would sleep with at least three women a day.”
