The idiom Rags to Riches goes very well with footballers, not all, however, as only a handful make it to the riches and the rest linger on within the rags spectrum. When talking about riches, the new man on the list is the Ecuadorian International, Moisess Caicedo.
Chelsea’s spending madness coupled with Liverpool’s transfer fiasco has created the most expensive defensive midfielder of all time. Chelsea signed Moises Caicedo from Brighton for an initial 100 million Euro with 15 million performance-related add-ons, a record figure in British football history.
When Caicedo signed the official contract and was unveiled as a Blues player, his childhood sweetheart, Paola Salazar was also present. Their love story, unknown a year ago, has now drawn comparison to that of Lionel Messi and Antonela Roccuzzo by football fans for obvious reasons.
Moises Caicedo affectionately known as Moi was born in Santa Domingo and was the youngest of 10 siblings. His parents were poor and struggled a lot so that Moi could fulfill his dream of becoming a professional footballer. Caicedo first met her girlfriend when he was playing for Independiente del Valle’s youth team. Only teenagers back, this is when both fell in love with each other and since then they have had each other’s back.
Caicedo is not much interested in sharing his private life and is not an Instagram freak and as a result, not much was known about his life off the pitch. Caicedo made his relationship with Girlfriend Paola Salazar public just last December via Instagram. Her girlfriend shares the same ideology as her boyfriend, as she isn’t much public about her private life either and keeps a private account on Instagram.
Paola’s profession isn’t clear, but reports suggest that she is going to try her luck in the modeling industry and was recently crowned as the queen of the Carnival of the Americas in the province of Los Rios. Looks like she is no less of a talent and is flying high just like her boyfriend.
Recently Paola also celebrated her 22nd birthday with Caicedo, with a huge cake and flowers. Caicedo posted it on Instagram with the caption, “Happy 22nd my loveeee. So happy to have walked by your side. Love you”.
According to reports, Caicedo will earn $125k a week, which roughly translates to $6-7 Million a year. It is a huge upgrade from his Brighton paycheck which was $990,00 yearly. Although most of the credit goes to his hard work and passion for the beautiful game, the unconditional support that he got from his family and his girlfriend has played a significant part in his journey from “rags to riches”.
In today’s day and age, footballers are no less than Hollywood stars, they earn eye-watering money, and it brings attention. While in a number of cases, it is the money and fame that entice the ladies, Caicedo and Salazar’s case is a throwback to old-school romance and a quintessential definition of loyalty and true love, something that can only be appreciated.