Abandoned abroad, he slept three nights under a bridge. Now Colombian goalkeeper makes a living from football: “There were no resources”

At 19, Colombian goalkeeper Ronaldo Balanta travelled to Peru after a supposed sports businessman promised him a football opportunity. Instead, the intermediary disappeared with the money and left Balanta and other young players stranded in a local hotel.

When the hotel stay ended, Balanta was turned out onto the streets. He spent three nights under a bridge, lost his clothes, football boots and goalkeeper gloves, and grew physically weaker because he could not find enough food. He was alone thousands of kilometres from home.

A chance encounter changed his situation. Balanta said he found a wallet in a supermarket containing US$1,500. He took US$50 to buy food, then tracked down the owner and returned the rest. After learning about Balanta’s circumstances, the man took him home, gave him a place to stay and offered him work at a car wash. Balanta remained there for about nine months.

The benefactor also welcomed Balanta’s teammates and contacted officials at a Peruvian professional club to arrange a formal trial. The article ends as the agent who had allegedly scammed the players reappears, without providing further details.

Balanta eventually returned to Colombia on a humanitarian repatriation flight and resumed physical training in the country’s third division. Atlético Júnior, a second-division club in Honduras, later offered him a professional contract and money for travel. His performances attracted interest from other regional teams, and his higher salary allowed him to send remittances to his mother, grandmother and two younger brothers. He now guards the goal for Génesis FC in Honduras’ top division, where the team is competing for a place in the national league’s Apertura final.