An early morning Zoom call from his Florida holiday home last summer convinced Hearts boss Derek McInnes that Cláudio Braga was exactly the type of player he wanted to sign.
"He was enthusiastic, already knew everything about Hearts, and he could not have looked more excited. It was like the best Christmas present," McInnes told Open Goal.
Plucked from obscurity in Norway's second division in a deal worth less than half a million pounds, Braga was recently named Scotland's player of the year.
The Portuguese striker has his own song, a Cristiano Ronaldo-style 'siuuu' celebration accompanies every goal he scores, and he has happily paid Hearts thousands of pounds in fines for regularly reposting praise received from fans on social media!
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Why and how did Hearts sign him?
Ask Brighton fans about their club's recruitment under Tony Bloom -- little-known players identified by their owner's Jamestown Analytics data firm and signed from obscure leagues before being leaving for a fortune within a couple of years -- and you'll get a peak into how Hearts' player recruitment also operates using the same system, albeit minus a couple of zeros on the spreadsheet.
"Every player in every league in the world who's played more than 3,000 minutes has a rating. That shows you how vast it is. Fill the squad with players of a high rating then they [the club] feel the only natural outcome is success. It's mad isn't it? It's fascinating," McInnes has said.
It doesn't really matter what league or at what level a player is playing in, they'll be flagged by the analytics software if their stats meet the requirements of the metrics being searched for. Even if, like Braga, they are living in the small Norwegian town of Ålesund and banging in the goals for the local second division team.
"If he keeps fit and avoids bad injuries, his data will show up well," Kjetil Rekdal, his former boss at Aaelsunds, told Nutmeg FC. "Claudio is a special guy and he wants to get higher and higher and higher."
Just how good has Braga been for Hearts?
Averaging better than a goal involvement in every other fixture -- 17 goals and six assists in 43 games -- Braga has swept every available playing award this season, including being voted PFA player of the year by his fellow players. And if there was a prize for the best signing made by a Scottish club in recent years then Braga's Hearts move would be in contention for that as well.
"Claudio was one of our top targets so to be able to bring him in is fantastic," McInnes told the club's website after Braga put pen to paper in June 2025.
"There is great potential there but also exceptional ability. He is a technically gifted player, he's got a goalscoring pedigree but is also very versatile. This is an exciting signing and I have to thank the club for giving us the backing to make this deal happen."
It might not be the best single season produced by a Hearts player -- teammate Lawrence Shankland plus club legends John Robertson and Barney Battles have all scored more in a campaign -- but it's fair to say that Braga has all the attributes to play at a higher level.
With incredible work-rate to go with his undoubted ability, don't be surprised if one or two clubs from the lower half of the Premier League in England make enquiries over the summer.
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Has he had a standout moment this season?
Feeling responsible for being the only player to miss a penalty in the shoot-out that saw Hearts beaten by St Mirren in August and eliminated from the League Cup, Claudio Braga took it personally on the team bus back to Edinburgh after the game, sitting alone with only his thoughts for company, but he refused to feel sorry for himself.
"Knowing that I was the responsible one for missing the opportunity that could give us a chance to go through -- and knowing this trophy has been missing [from here] for a long time -- I felt really bad for me, of course, but for the club especially," he told BBC Radio Scotland.
However, just seven days later Braga's two goals against Motherwell at Tynecastle were instrumental in Hearts coming from 3-0 down to draw 3-3. And that's when he said he really felt he was an integral part of the club.
"After I signed for this club it started being my house. I spend more time here than with my family. It's definitely my house right now. And I'm also feeling the love from back home because there are now a lot more Hearts fans in Portugal -- everybody that knows me is a supporter -- which means a lot of new subscribers to Hearts TV!
"I hope they are proud of me -- without them I don't think I could get this much energy, this much love for the game that I have right now."
How did his Queen-inspired song start?
Hearts fan Calum Mackenzie was on his lunch break at work last summer trying to come up with a song for the club's new Portuguese signing. Inspired by one of his friends in their WhatsApp group chat who had used the term Radio Braga when talking about the new arrival, Calum jotted down some alternative lyrics...
"You have the pace / You have the power / You're yet to have your finest hour / CLAUDIOOO...
[Chorus]
"All we need is Claudio Braga / Claudio Braaaaaga / Claudio Braga / Claudio, what's new? / Claudio, Gorgie still loves you."
Later that evening, Mackenzie sent a voice note containing his version of the song to half a dozen of his Jambo mates in their group chat "just for a laugh."
He told Hearts podcast Scarves Around The Funnel: "Genuinely, nothing came of it that night but then, the day after, one of the boys shared it on Twitter and it just went crazy after that."
Footage of Mackenzie's Claudio Braga song being belted out by the Hearts support during an away game earlier this season has now been viewed more than seven million times on social media. So, what's next on the path to stardom for this talented young lyricist?
"Ah'm no Rabbie Burns," Mackenzie joked. "That's me done. Leave the fitba before the fitba leaves you. Ah'm retired from this game now."
Will Hearts make a big profit on Braga this summer?
Moving to Hearts in the summer of 2025 was a big step up for Braga, but one he felt he was ready for.
"I'll play in a better team, in a better club with better facilities, so everything will be better," he told Edinburgh News before the start of the season. "When it comes to this club, it's by far the best I play. And hopefully I don't stop here. But I want to enjoy as much as I can because it's a great opportunity for me."
Moving on from Hearts in the summer of 2026 might have been the furthest thing from his mind when joining the previous summer. However, there's a strong possibility the Hearts faithful may have seen him play at Tynecastle for the last time. That's how Jamestown Analytics works.
And sources have told ESPN that Scotland's player of the year is attracting interest from elsewhere, including Crystal Palace... and Brighton (presumably so they can then transfer him for a fortune to Chelsea?)
So is there a possibility Tony Bloom might enter into negotiations with Tony Bloom this summer?
And how much would Hearts want in a deal for their 26-year-old Portuguese striker, who's under contract until 2028? £5 million? £10 million?
Getting 10x what Hearts agreed to sign him for (€500,000) would be a very good return. Getting 20x would be an unbelievable bit of business, and if Hearts have two English Premier League teams battling it out, then a £10m offer would not be out of the equation.
