For Lulinha, the Brazilian midfielder who emerged as one of the most hyped teenagers in South American football history, the moment came when he was 15 years old and Manchester United came to his front door.
He sent them away.
Lulinha had already established himself as something extraordinary in the Corinthians academy — nearly 300 goals, top scorer at the 2007 South American Under-17 Championship with 12 strikes in nine games, and a release clause the club set at $50 million before he had made a single senior appearance. Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona had all taken notice. Manchester United moved first with something more concrete.
Their representatives travelled to his home, sat with his parents and laid out a detailed plan. The structure they proposed mirrored the arrangement used for Brazilian twins Fábio and Rafael, who made the move from Fluminense to Old Trafford while still minors.
The catch was that United could not formalise the deal directly through Corinthians — the agreement would need to go via São Paulo, an arrangement the club had used previously when pursuing another Brazilian prospect.
For Lulinha, a lifelong Corinthians supporter who had been at the club since the age of eight, that was the end of the conversation.
"I am Corinthians," he said recently. "I had been there since I was eight years old. Was I going to leave without making a single professional appearance? Without feeling the supporters, the Gaviões?"
He chose to stay. Corinthians were relegated to Serie B in 2007 despite his 20 appearances that season, and the weight of expectation that had built around him — the kid worth $50 million who was going to save the club — took a visible toll on his confidence. He made 83 senior appearances for Corinthians across three years. He scored three goals.
The years that followed were a long search for somewhere he felt at home. Portugal, northeast Brazil, South Korea, the UAE, Japan, and eventually Indonesia, where Madura United gave him the stability and recognition his career in Brazil never quite delivered.
Now 36, with 110 appearances and 36 goals for Madura United and captain's armband to match, Lulinha can look back at that moment with clarity.
"The train passes once," he said. "If the train passes and you don't get on, it might come again — but it is hard. That was Manchester United, not a small club. Today I would accept, without question."
He went with his heart. He knows that now.