COLOURFUL new Liverpool ace Roberto Firmino and his stunning wife are replacing the Beckhams as British footie’s glamour couple.
The £29million Brazil star, 23, is set on showing off his talents on AND off the pitch.
Model Larissa Pereira, 22, meanwhile, will be among the most glamorous wags.
The flamboyant pair love fashion and posting pictures on social media of themselves kissing, working out and wearing matching outfits.
And last year they showed off more than intended when Roberto posted a half-naked snap of Larissa on Instagram, along with messages that left many believing the picture was taken after they had just had sex.
Roberto beamed for the camera while they held up wine glasses and Larissa kissed him. He wrote: “Luxurious night with the love of my life”.
Larissa replied: “You smell the best in the world. Perfect night. I love you so much”.
But high-spirited Roberto forgot to check he had cropped the snap to cut out the bottom of Larissa’s body before posting it. Hundreds of thousands of followers saw the picture before he took it down.
His first coach, Luiz Guilherme Gomes de Farias, 57, told The Sun on Sunday: “He is just as well known in Brazil for his fashion sense and beautiful wife as his brilliant talent.
“The people of Liverpool will love him. He and his wife bring glamour everywhere they go.”
Roberto met stunning Larissa — with whom he has a daughter Valentina, aged seven months — in a Brazilian nightclub.
The star admits he is vain and likes to film himself singing while driving. Yet he learned about life the hard way, growing up in a neighbourhood beset by gun crime in the city of Maceio.
Roberto was banned from leaving the house alone as a child because his mum Maria feared he would get involved with gangs.
She said: “I didn’t want Roberto to go out and play because it was very dangerous on the streets.
“People said, ‘Let him go, he’s born with the talent’. From eight years old he would fall asleep hugging his football.”
But the young Roberto — who has ten caps for Brazil, scoring four times — soon found a way to get his football fix, sneaking out from their tiny wooden home with its corrugated iron roof.
Maria added: “He would get up very early while I was sleeping to play football, make as little noise as possible and jump over the wall.” With the help of Luiz, a coach at local club CRB, Roberto escaped the slum aged 14. Luiz said: “Roberto’s family was very poor and humble. He would play in his bare feet. When he first came to the club, his father was unemployed.
“So I paid the boy’s travel and expenses, helped with his kit and took him to games. He was a quiet kid but streetwise. I’ve seen youngsters drawn into drug trafficking and robbing cars.
“Within the first few minutes of him being on the field, I knew he was going to be a star. I cried when I heard he had been called to play for Brazil.
“I’ve felt so proud of him, to see that he has fulfilled what I dreamed of and what he dreamed of. He always said to me that it was his dream to become one of Brazil’s best footballers.”
At 16, Roberto signed for Tombense, 1,600 miles from home. He was then sent out on loan to second-division side Figueirense, 1,000 miles further south. His mum said Roberto was riddled with homesickness — which may worry Liverpool fans. She said: “He called me many times desperate to come home. ‘Mum, come and get me I can’t take this any more!’
“All the family cried and he cried but we didn’t have the money to bring him home.
“All the other boys had gone home for Christmas because they didn’t live far from the base. He was the only one that lived hundreds of miles away.”
Away from home, when he started to earn money, Roberto’s eccentric fashion sense began to emerge.
He had peroxide-blond haircuts and was known for wearing bow-ties on nights out. He got a series of tattoos, including one that reads: “Family, neverending love”. Another, in Greek, on the devout Christian’s chest reads: “God is faithful”.
At 19, Roberto signed for German club Hoffenheim.
He has said: “I got a taste for fashion and tattoos in Germany. I began to wake up to fashionable clothes. I’ve got a load of tattoos covering my body with images and phrases in German and Greek.
“One of my latest tattoos is on my chest and is the name of my daughter Valentina, with a crown and a diamond stone.”
Now he and Larissa are known for their pictures posing in flashy outfits. One family member, who did not wish to be named, said: “Roberto and Larissa are similar — they love the good life, fast cars and comfortable homes.
“They are like David and Victoria Beckham. She is very body-conscious and likes keeping fit.
“They are really happy together and suit each other. She keeps him grounded and she is very loyal.
“As a child he would wander around the city centre window-shopping and telling us that one day he would be wearing all these fashionable clothes and jewellery.
“He loves shopping and wearing the latest brands and trends. Now he can afford it, he spoils himself. He is living a wonderful life.
“You can see how happy he is. He loves to have fun. He loves to video himself singing and putting it on Instagram. Now he can do whatever he wants. He likes to change his hair colour whenever he fancies. He is living the kind of life he never thought he could have.”
Speaking in January of his love of luxury, Roberto said: “I like to try new things. Maybe I am a little vain. I have an exotic wardrobe. My style is flamboyant and bold when it comes to choosing what to wear.
“I search for different crazes on the internet and either copy them or take what I want and make it my own style. I love edgy clothes. I am trying to create my own signature style and I’ve been improving on it every day. It’s about expressing who I am and finding out what suits me and what I like.”
Now Roberto, whose wages at the Reds are said to be £90,000 a week, will bring his young family to Merseyside.
He has already shared his wealth, buying his mum a brand new luxury home in Maceio.
Luiz said: “Liverpool have chosen an excellent athlete. He is dedicated, hard-working and always committed.
“Hopefully Liverpool fans will fall in love with him and the fun he brings with him.”
How they match up to David & Victoria
ROBERTO FIRMINO and his wife Larissa Pereira have what it takes to become a firm fixture here. Ahead of his arrival on Merseyside, they already had many of the attributes needed to compete with football’s finest.
We reckon they’ll soon rival our cheesiest footie couples – the memorable Ash & Cheryl and their celebrity majesties, the mighty Beckhams.
