Soccer Champ Baptized by Christian Teammate

Liverpool FC player Roberto Firmino says his biggest title is now the love of Christ. 

Millions of Christian fans are celebrating popular Brazilian soccer star Roberto Firmino’s latest move off the field: He has committed his life to Christ.

Less than a year after scoring the winning goal at the FIFA Club World Cup, Firmino professed his faith and was baptized in a swimming pool by his Liverpool Football Club teammate Alisson Becker and Brazilian Christian musician Isaias Saad. Firmino shared video of the baptism on his Instagram Thursday, where it was viewed more than 3.2 million times in one day.

“I give you my failures and I will give you my victories as well. My biggest title is your love, Jesus!” Firmino wrote in Portuguese.

The 28-year-old plays striker for Liverpool, England’s Premier League team that won consecutive Union of European Football Champions League titles in 2018 and 2019, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019.

Becker, who is also from Brazil, was named FIFA’s best goalkeeper in 2019. His Christian faith is well known. He attributes his success as a goalkeeper to hard work and faith. “You need to be very focused on football,” he said, “and I think faith is important too. If you believe in God, you know you have to do your best on the pitch and put love into everything you do in life.” When he got a chance to play on the Brazilian team in the World Cup, he took to Twitter to write “Realization of a dream!!!” in Portuguese. “Glory to God!”

Becker was encouraged to talk about his faith by Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. Klopp, a former German player, had an experience where he decided to put his trust in God after his father’s death in 1998. He talks about his faith regularly in interviews.

“To be ...