From a BMW to Tarps in a City Square

Régis Fernandes da Silva, known in football as Régis Pitbull, is 49. He played for Corinthians, Ponte Preta and Vasco da Gama, among others. He spent the 1996–97 season at Marítimo in Portugal and, after returning to Brazil, represented Ceará, Coritiba, Bahia and Portuguesa. His career also took him to Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Kuwait. He retired in his early thirties.

A Bola reports that his problems with drugs began while he was still playing: he was suspended twice after testing positive for cannabis in anti-doping controls. After he left the game, the article says, his dependence on harder drugs grew worse. In 2022 he entered a rehabilitation clinic but relapsed less than a month after leaving it.

He eventually lost his apartment in São Paulo. He left it in 2025 and now faces a court action over unpaid building fees and taxes on the property. By September 2026 he had been living on the street for about two months. Globo Esporte found him sheltering under tarpaulins and blankets in a public square surrounded by rubble. A nearby restaurant gives him some meals and lets him charge his phone, and a friend helps him trim his hair and beard.

Looking back, he described the life he once had, including driving a BMW. He told the reporters he admits he has a problem but does not accept hospitalisation or treatment, and that he does not want to be pitied. One of his remarks was that if people think he is dead, that is better. Relatives and friends told the paper that his refusal of help is the main obstacle to his recovery. At the time of the report he was still on the street.