Soccer player Dos Santos signs first pro deal after surviving fatal bar fire in Switzerland
METZ, France (AP) — After surviving a fatal bar fire in Switzerland on New Year’s Day, French soccer player Tahirys Dos Santos has signed his first professional contract with Metz. The Ligue 1 club announced the one-year contract signing late Monday, nine days after the 19-year-old defender returned to play for its reserves team. Dos Santos was severely burned in the fire at a bar in ski resort Crans-Montana in the early hours of Jan.
1 that killed 41 people and injured more than 100. “This moment has an even more special meaning after the difficult months I went through in the hospital,” Dos Santos said in a club statement. “This test made me stronger and taught me to never give up.
” The French teenager, who has family ties to Cape Verde, joined his local club Metz at age eight. His return to action on April 11 was in the French fifth-tier division. Metz is last in Ligue 1 and will be relegated to play in the second tier next season.
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