Brazilian goalkeeper charged with torture and murder of ex-girlfriend - 'Mistakes happen. I’m not a bad guy'

There's been international outcry since Bruno returned to the game

A Brazilian soccer player who had his mistress murdered and fed to dogs claims he is "starting over."

In his first major interview since being released from prison, 32-year-old Bruno Fernandes de Souza said: “What happened, happened. I made a mistake, a serious one, but mistakes happens in life - I’m not a bad guy.”

“People tried to bury my dream because of one mistake, but I asked God for forgiveness, so I’m carrying on with my career, dude,” he said, according to the Guardian.

The star goalkeeper was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2013 for his involvement in the murder of former model Eliza Samudio. The two were engaged in a paternity dispute over a child they conceived in 2009, while Bruno was still married. When Samudio began demanding child support payments, a group of Bruno’s friends kidnapped the young woman, tortured her, and fed her dismembered body to Rottweilers.

Just this February, however, a judge ordered Bruno’s release on a technicality. The goalie had served just six years and seven months — less than a third of his original sentence.

A month later, Boa Esporte, a second division club in south-eastern Brazil, signed the former star for a two-year contract. The decision crew outcry from women’s rights groups and caused several groups to withdraw funding from the club, according to CNN.

Club owner Rafael Gois Silva Xavier defended his decision to sign Bruno last week.

“He was found guilty, he served his time and he was released by the courts,” he told reporters. “He deserves another opportunity.”