‘I will make this guy shut his mouth’ – Everton striker on ‘haters’

Everton striker Beto says he needs “haters” and “people criticizing me” to motivate him and prove them wrong. He admits he struggled to adjust during his first season in England.

The 26-year-old joined Everton from Udinese for £25m last summer after scoring 10 goals for the Serie A side the previous season.

The Portuguese frontman had a dream debut for the Toffees by scoring against Doncaster in the Carabao Cup in August but managed only four more goals throughout the season.

“We need to understand one thing: football is simple,” Beto told BBC Sport when asked whether criticism of him on social media is a motivation.

“We play football in our lives and they are working like eight- or 12-hour shifts and they come.

“Not everybody in this life is going to love you and not everybody in this life is going to hate you. In this sports life, for me, it’s OK.

“Sometimes I like to read my comments when I played badly or missed chances. They will say ‘Beto is [expletive] with missing chances’. But I like it because I say ‘OK, I will make this guy shut his mouth.’

“I take it personal too. When I’m in training the next week or the next day, I remember it and I say ‘No, this guy is not going to say this about me any more’ and I keep going.”

Beto played a secondary role to first-choice Dominic Calvert-Lewin for most of the campaign.

Although Beto featured in 37 games across all competitions, he was primarily used as an impact substitute, with 27 of those appearances coming off the bench.

“I need to have competition and I need to have people criticising me,” he said. “I need to have haters. I need these kind of things in my life.

“Even when I was young it was always like this. When it is football I take it really seriously.

“When it is just you playing, there is no competition. Sometimes you can chill, you can miss training, and if you miss a chance you know you will play the next game.

“Competition is different. You need to always be alert.”

The 6ft 4in striker started his career at Portuguese regional side Uniao Tires and worked part-time at a fast-food restuarant to make ends meet before joining Olimpico Montijo and moving on to Primeira Liga side Portimonense in 2019.

He added: “I have notes. I have screenshots from Facebook, YouTube – when they say something like I’m not good enough or something like that.

“I say OK, I take a screenshot, I put it on my notes and I read it.”

Last season, Sean Dyche’s side suffered two separate deductions totalling eight points yet still managed to stay clear of the relegation zone by 14 points.

Beto impressed during Everton’s pre-season training camp in Ireland last week and featured in the 3-3 draw against Sligo Rovers.

Asked about the adjustment from Italy to England, Beto said: “It was really tough. I don’t think I adjusted well.

“Now I know the Premier League and what I can do to get better, to create more chances and help the team score more goals. I just need to be more open physically to do what I want to do.

“Last season was tough mentally and physically. We managed to do our objective so it was good. We went on holiday with free minds and now we come back fresh and new.”