Without him, Werder Bremen’s greatest triumph in recent club history would hardly have been imaginable. In the 2003/04 season, Ailton tore up the Bundesliga, scoring 28 goals and sensationally leading the Green-Whites to the double of league championship and DFB Cup.

As a richly deserved reward, he received, among other things, the highly coveted top scorer’s cannon. But of all things, this symbol of his career was not in his possession for almost two decades.

Since 2006, the trophy had been missing from the life of the Brazilian fan favorite. The reason was a fierce dispute with his then-agent Werner Helleckes. Helleckes had taken the cannon because Ailton supposedly owed him money.

In the following years, the prized piece even surfaced several times on ‘eBay’, with the highest bid reaching up to 600,000 euros. Ailton himself repeatedly prevented the sales, but the cannon still remained missing.

📸 Martin Rose – Bongarts

Now, 19 years later, the big turnaround has finally come. On ‘Instagram’, the now 52-year-old suddenly appeared once again with the top scorer’s cannon in his hands. You can see—and hear—the relief in him.

“I am very happy that after 19 years it’s back with me,” Ailton told ‘Bild’. “It means everything to me and I will never give it away again.”

As the former striker explains, the trophy changed hands in the meantime. From Helleckes, it went to another agent, and once again there was a legal dispute.

In court, he was eventually offered the chance to get the cannon back in exchange for a payment. “I took advantage of that opportunity,” said Ailton. “There is only one trophy like this.” He deliberately keeps the amount paid a secret: “How much I paid, I’ll keep to myself.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 Andreas Rentz – Bongarts