BE A CITY SLICKER

prize is deserved for him.” Jesus has been heartened by those words of wisdom from the great man.

But above all, he listens to people much closer to home.

His mum, Vera Lucia, joined him in his new Manchester home after overcoming her fear of flying.

So too has Jesus’s brother and his two closest friends.

Fellow Brazilians and new City team-mates Fernandinho and Fernando have also helped make him feel at home.

And he cannot wait to wreak more mayhem on rival defences after learning his trade behind those prison walls.

Jesus said: “Yes, we trained inside a military prison but the pitch was used by policemen and we had no contact with the bad guys.

“I had some great moments there – it was a happy time.

“Now, the decision to join City has been taken by me, with my family and my agent.

“I’m so happy with the decision and I can’t deny that working with Pep Guardiola helped with that.

“But that’s not enough for me. I need to show he was right about me.”

For his part, Guardiola is in no doubt that Jesus won’t be afraid to take any prisoners in the battles ahead.

He said: “We knew he was physically strong.

“He’s a fighter. The Brazilian guys are physical.

“People talk about the technical skills but I played with many Brazilians in Barcelona and I’ve managed many Brazilians and their best quality is how strong they are.

“He’s a striker for the national team and to be a Brazil striker it’s not quite so simple.

“There are many Brazilians who are huge players upfront who are not playing.

“He’s playing so that means a lot. And after one or two days here he asked for a teacher to start to learn English. That counts for a lot.”

God help every opponent now that Jesus has finally arrived.