Murillo has been a revelation since arriving at Nottingham Forest from Corinthians, but one aspect of the move is still something he struggles with.
It’s never a sure thing that a player will adapt to English football, as evidenced by Ramon Sosa being linked away from Forest despite only arriving from Talleres in Argentina in the summer.
Murillo is clearly a unique case, though, becoming a key figure in the Forest squad as soon as he was given the opportunity by Steve Cooper and has only continued to excel since.
His impact on the club even extends into the Forest Academy, with Zach Abbott learning from Murillo in training. It wasn’t all easy for the Brazilian, though, with one aspect of the City Ground switch causing particular problems early on.
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Murillo initially struggled with ‘ridiculous’ English accents
Murillo signed a new Forest contract in January to extend his fruitful stay in the Premier League, but adapting to English football wasn’t the only aspect of the move from Brazil that had to be considered.
The language barrier was always going to be an issue, even with the likes of Danilo as fellow Brazilians to help him adapt. Speaking in an interview with Isabela Pagliari, Murillo discussed these initial teething problems.
He said: “I think what made it most difficult in terms of impact was a little bit of the language. Because we know English in the United States is a little easier but when we came here, the accents they speak are ridiculous!
‘For me, it’s absurd, I’ve been here for a year and a half and I can communicate very well but I think there are times when I can’t do anything!”
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Clearly, the 22-year-old has become more comfortable with his surroundings, shown by the fact that he and his wife, Mabili, actually revealed the gender of their child on the pitch at the City Ground.
In the interview, Murillo gave particular credit to Nuno Espirito Santo for this comfort, with their working relationship helping the defender grow as both a player and a person.
Murillo on his strong relationship with Nuno Espirito Santo
Forest would demand a world-record fee to sell Murillo given how much he has progressed in his time at the club so far. Although it was Cooper who initially signed him, Espirito Santo is clearly a big part of his meteoric rise.
On the Forest manager, Murillo added: “He’s one of the best coaches I’ve had in terms of relationship because he’s a guy who trusts me a lot, just like I trust him, so we created this relationship.
“Since he arrived, he saw something different in me, he always said: ‘Work hard and you can go far, work hard and you can reach levels you never thought of.’ I said: ‘Do you see that?’
“Look, he used to be a player, he knows so he said: ‘Well, I see that so work on minimising mistakes, focus on yourself, work on this, work on that, I’ll help you.’ […] We have this conversation a lot, just like friends.”
Although Murillo’s Brazil debut didn’t go to plan, it was still a significant step for the centre-back at the heart of the positivity surrounding Forest this season. His adaption to England, with the help of Espirito Santo, has left the club with a star well on his way to becoming one of the world’s best.