A former Europa League footballer has signed for Radcliffe FC in the seventh tier of English football.
Nivaldo Rodrigues Ferreira, simply known as Nivaldo, has signed for the club from Ukrainian second division side SC Chaika. He has played in six different countries across the world, including Russia, Belarus and his native Brazil.
Radcliffe will now boast a former Europa League player among their squad, with the Brazilian having also won the Belarusian Cup and Belarusian Super Cup. Having left Ukraine, the player is now looking to rebuild his life with his family in England.
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Nivaldo had to leave his life in Ukraine behind as he made the journey to England and described how pleased he was to have signed for Radcliffe.
He said: “I’m very happy, this move is very good for me and my family because of our situation. After we moved away from Ukraine, we had the opportunity to start again and that’s something that the club offered me."
The club's chairman, Paul Hilton, also explained how the signing came about as he revealed the impact the player's story had on him.
Hilton said: “When the opportunity to speak to Nivaldo arose we were keen to see whether there was anything we could do to help him and his family in their transition to the UK.
"Hearing his story was inspirational and from the heights of the Europa League to packing his life and family into a car overnight and driving for the border as the bombs began to fall in Kyiv is an experience that I don’t think many people can truly ever understand.
"The humility and dedication to his family is there for all to see. We've been proud to help him and his family settle in and now clearance is through we are all looking forward to the season and Nivaldo building his new life in the UK."
