Lead star Carloto Cotta said that to play a soccer superstar (loosely inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo), he did not take additional soccer lessons but instead worked with a personal trainer to develop highly-defined six pack abs - something Ronaldo is famous for. Cotta worked out for months in advance following a strict training regime and diet that had him eating almost no carbs. He noted, "It is very hard to get abs like that." But the training paid off and the film-makers complimented Cotta for achieving the shredded physique of a soccer star. In the film, Cotta constantly appears shirtless and shows off his abs, much like the soccer star he is based on.
Two sports essays by David Foster Wallace - "Roger Federer As Religious Experience" and "How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart" - served as inspiration for the film, to delve into the psychology and personality of a sport superstar.
An entire mock underwear campaign featuring Carloto Cotta was created and images were used in the film itself and in the marketing campaign. It is a satirical representation of the numerous underwear photo-shoots done by Cristiano Ronaldo and Carloto Cotta similarly appears in tight white underwear with muscles flexed, oiled and glistening for the camera. The film-makers said they had a lot of fun making all these fake ad campaigns and also created a lot of Diamantino swag, like jerseys, bed-sheets, portraits etc to represent the narcissism and commercialization of a famous sport star.
The film was completed constructed around lead star Carloto Cotta - right down to the choice of character and story, the setting, the script, the direction etc. Gabriel Abrantes said that they he had worked with Cotta in many short films but wanted to explore his potential in a feature film.
Carloto Cotta has unique accent in the film. He picked it up from his personal trainer Pedro Medeiros who fails from the Azores region of Portugal. The film-makers said that as Cotta was working on developing his six pack abs with Mederios, he was also slowly learning his accent and used it in the film. They noted it has a musical quality and fit with the character.