Mention Rafael Moura to people in Brazil and they will speak of a footballer nicknamed He-Man who scored goals for the likes of Corinthians, Fluminense, Internacional and Atletico Mineiro and starred at the world-renowned Maracana.

However, throw his name into a conversation in future and the narrative may be completely different. Moura will always be a highly-regarded footballer, but he is embarking upon a fresh adventure.

In March, the 38-year-old made his debut as a professional beach tennis player, competing at BT50 Belo Horizonte on the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour, although alongside his partner Joao Neiva he lost in the first round of qualifying.

At a more recent event, he and Renzo Amancio navigated qualifying and earned the right to face beach tennis grandees Michele Cappelletti and Antomi Ramos, suggesting that Moura's sojourn to the sands is more of a second coming than a passing fancy. 

“There is nothing social for me about playing this sport,” Moura told itftennis.com. “I really want to be good at beach tennis and I want to be one of the best 100 players in the world.

“I dream about this, and nothing prevents me from dreaming. The beach is addictive and beach tennis is inside me, it’s part of me. I’m going to train like hell and dedicate myself to beach tennis. I am excited for the future.”

Moura’s association with beach tennis began in 2013 while on holiday in Arraial d’Ajuda and Porto Seguro, although he already had a long-standing appreciation for tennis and other racket sports such as padel and squash.  

His love affair sizzled further when he returned to Belo Horizonte – the city of his birth – for a second spell with Atletico Mineiro – which he describes as “the club of my heart” – in 2016.

Moura had a beach volleyball court at his property, allowing him to introduce beach tennis to his family and friends, but it was last year – following a chance meeting – when things escalated.

Gazing out over the beach from his Rio de Janeiro home, he saw Flaminia Daina and Joana Cortez – two of the sport’s leading lights – practising. He wandered over, played a little and was told to consider pursuing the sport full-time.

The rest, as they say, is history and, while Moura has not formally retired from football, beach tennis would appear his future. That said, there are certain aspects of his football life which remain prevalent.

“Mentality and my mindset in the game are what I take from football,” said Moura. “For example, I grew up dealing with a great deal of pressure because football in Brazil is everything and people expect the perfect performance.

“One day you’re an idol, the next you’re nothing. If you miss a goal, it’s the worst thing possible so I learned to have confidence in my skills and ability. When I moved to beach tennis, I took this confidence with me.

“However, I don’t yet feel like I did on the football field because, being new to the sport, I lack the technique of the other athletes, although I am being complimented by other players for trying difficult things.

“I do difficult things even though I don’t yet have the technique. It will come, and that is my best skill – a strong mindset. I also hate to lose and I’m super-competitive.

“In beach tennis, however, I don’t have the pressure anymore of being an idol, to be the top scorer, to score so many goals per match or of losing a game. When I play, I am relaxed with joy and happiness.”

For Moura, there are also similarities between the tennis players he watches and admires from afar, who have also fuelled his fondness for the game more generally, and two of football’s global megastars.

“I have always loved tennis and I was always playing tennis in my house – in the buildings in Brazil you often have a tennis court at your disposal – and had tournaments with my friends,” added Moura.

“I loved watching Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Federer because he has innate talent and is a cold-minded player, similar to Lionel Messi in a football sense. He is the guy who is born a good player and plays with a cold mind.

“I like Nadal because of his physical traits, and he plays with his heart. I would compare Nadal to Cristiano Ronaldo as he is someone who has talent, but his success comes from hard work.”

Should Moura achieve the billing of either Messi or Ronaldo within the sphere of beach tennis then there are going to be some fireworks on the sands of Brazil and beyond in the coming years.

Whatever the outcome, this sporting odyssey is certainly worth keeping tabs on, although very few of Moura’s former team-mates would be shocked by his career trajectory. A dalliance with beach tennis would appear to have been written in the stars.

“It won’t have been a big surprise for them because I have always had a love for racket sports and everybody knew this as it was part of our daily lives and our daily conversations,” said Moura.

“In fact, I brought everyone from Botafogo [the last football club Moura represented] to the beach and we all played beach tennis. Incidentally, my first ever beach tennis match was against Dida, the former AC Milan goalkeeper.

“Everybody knows my love for this sport and my former teammates really engage with me about beach tennis. They also support me and really motivate me. As I say, I am excited for the future.”