Brazilian officials arrested Jo just before he was set to board a flight in his home country, with the former Everton and Manchester City striker allegedly failing to pay child support again
Sport
14:27, 13 Jun 2025
Jo of Everton the ball
Jo's dream start to life at Goodison Park soon turned into a nightmare
Former Everton loanee Jo has been arrested for allegedly failing to pay child support for his eighth offspring. The striker, full name Joao Alves de Assis Silva, was taken into custody by Federal Police in his native Brazil on Thursday.
He was about to board a flight from Sao Paulo International Airport but instead found himself en route to a police station in Guarulhos. It comes after influencer Maiara Quiderolly reportedly brought the case against him.
She gave birth to his eighth child, Joao Gabriel, and the sixth outside of his marriage to Claudia Silva, after they had an affair. That's according to NeedToKnow, with it reported that Jo ended the affair before Joao Gabriel was delivered.
His lawyer, Guilherme Motai, told local media: “We were aware of the warrant due to the failure to pay child support. That failure stems from a financial situation that’s unrealistic - it doesn’t reflect the ex-player’s current reality.
“He’s not shirking his responsibilities, but those responsibilities need to be in line with his circumstances.” Jo was also arrested over alleged missed child support payments in May 2024.
That arrest, also in connection with Maiara and Joao Gabriel, came ahead of a match for his Amazonas side against Ponte Preta in Brazil's Serie B league. He was released the next day after a request submitted by his defence team was approved by a court.
The sum involved on that occasion was “reasonably small”, according to Jo’s lawyer at the time, Artur Eugênio Matias. Some reports say his latest arrest was, in fact, in connection with not one but two warrants and two of his children.
Jo has still been playing football in his home country aged 38, most recently representing fourth division side Itabirito. Big things were expected of him when he first arrived in England in the summer of 2008, with Manchester City spending a club-record fee of £19million to sign him from CSKA Moscow.
Jo of Ceara controls the ball during a match between Atletico Mineiro and Ceara as part of Brasileirao 2022 at Mineirao Stadium on October 09, 2022
He's not yet retired aged 38(Image: Getty Images)
But he managed just six goals in 42 appearances for City, resulting in two loan spells at Goodison Park. He joined the Toffees for the second half of the 2008/09 season, scoring a brace on his debut in a 3-0 win against Bolton Wanderers.
Five goals in 12 league games earned him a return for the following campaign. But it proved to be disastrous, scoring just twice more before David Moyes suspended him for a breach of conduct for returning to Brazil without permission over the Christmas period.
Jo's journeyman career featured subsequent spells in the UAE, China and Japan. He also scored five times in 20 matches for Brazil between 2007 and 2014, winning the 2013 Confederations Cup and representing his country at the World Cup the following year.