Silva started his football career playing for small São Paulo-based clubs.
His good performances and versatility earned him a five-year contract with the Série A club.
On January 7, 2011, Silva claimed he had been kidnapped at gunpoint before being robbed of money and jewelry.
[2] CCTV footage showed that he was simply late for training, and fabricated the story in order to circumvent the clubs 40% wage drop due to tardiness.
[3][4] Silva was charged with filing a false police report, and on January 19, 2011, he agreed to a deal offered by prosecutors to donate R$22,000 (about US$13,000) to the victims of recent floods in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in order to avoid a possible prison sentence and criminal record.