Pepê regrets ‘war’ with Vítor Bruno: “I shouldn’t have acted that way” | OneFootball

Pepê gave a long interview this Monday to the Brazilian television station Vítor Bruno, former coach of FC Porto, after being excluded from the squad for the match in Barcelos against Gil Vicente, which was lost 3-1 on January 19.

At the time, the coach justified the absence of the Brazilian international with the expression "by his own will," accusing him of "self-excluding from participating in games." Pepê responded through a statement on social media: "Says the guy who excludes me from training for scoring a goal in the mini-goal with force, who made me train alone around the field all week."

The 28-year-old player now admits that he overreacted: "It was really my worst moment at FC Porto. Things happened in a way I didn't imagine, so I ended up acting very emotionally. I'm sorry for all that, I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I deeply regret what I did. Now, that's in the past. It's time to look forward because I think that will never happen again."

"Many things happened last season, things that ended up influencing me not to have a good year. I tried to clear my mind to return to being the usual Pepê, cheerful, spontaneous, playful, and who loves playing football. I think all that was crucial for me to get back to doing what I love, which is playing football with great joy," he further explained.

The winger admitted to being more reserved in the previous season, a consequence of a pre-season and start of competition below expectations, which affected his state of mind: "I was a bit more closed off last season, I can't exactly explain the reasons, but I felt things weren't going well for me. I didn't have a good pre-season, the first games didn't help me either. All of that affected my mind. I became more closed off, I wasn't myself. Generally, I'm always in a good mood and ready to help. As things weren't happening the way I wanted, I ended up shutting myself off. That, of course, harmed me a lot."

"I returned 100% focused to Portugal"

Pepê assures that the worst is behind him thanks to the "support of family and friends": "I was in Brazil before the season started, so I could return to my roots. I found the cheerful and playful Pepê again. I've always been like that, actually. It was really crucial to reconnect with family and friends. It was crucial. They immediately felt that I wasn't the Pepê they knew, and that affected me. They were right. I returned 100% focused to Portugal."

"I think this is my best season. It is, surely, my best start to a season. I had incredible moments at Grêmio too, but I prefer to look forward. What's behind... is behind. I know I want to have the best season of my life. Look at it game by game, training by training. Always evolve, every day," concluded the versatile player, who has, this season, two goals and one assist in five games with the Dragons' jersey.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.