André Silva: I left Porto too soon, it shaped my career | OneFootball

André Silva gave a long interview to this Friday's edition of the newspaper O Jogo, in which he addressed various topics, notably his departure from FC Porto in the summer of 2017, heading to AC Milan for around 38 million euros, when he was just 22 years old.

“The feeling I had was that I left the club quite quickly. Maybe that influenced my entire career by leaving in that way. The club was in a moment where it needed that, due to financial difficulties. From that perspective, I say and emphasize that I feel there was something left to do, for what the club means to me, for how quickly I went through the first team,” he began by stating.

“It was quite hard for me, a difficult process, I lived the ambition of being on the big stages, feeling the pressure of helping the club I loved. Losing that involvement was painful, especially because of the phase I was going through, for what it meant to be at FC Porto, playing and having an impact. Neither the club's name nor what I was going to earn eased those feelings. I knew what I was leaving behind…” he continued.

“From FC Porto, that offer to return never came. It didn't come, maybe I could have accepted it, you never know. But there were opportunities to return to Portugal, to the league that made me a player and boosted my career. It happened before Frankfurt and also when I was at Leipzig,” he completed.

“FC Porto? I hope they win that title”

The Portuguese forward ended up not being able to establish himself at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and went through successive loans to Sevilla and Eintracht Frankfurt, the club that signed him permanently in 2020. He later played for Leipzig, Real Sociedad, Werder Bremen, and currently represents Elche.

Even so, he maintained contact with the dragons and praised the management of André Villas-Boas: “They are in a spectacular moment, commendable. After 42 years of presidency of Pinto da Costa, a complicated phase was predictable. It's necessary to give credit and see that this difficulty is being quickly overcome.”

“Everything is going very well, the responsibility is also starting to increase, but I feel there is great control from everyone leading to what is happening. I hope they win that title, I hope they maintain this level,” added the forward, who is currently 30 years old.

“I identified a lot with Rodrigo Mora”

To conclude, André Silva praised two FC Porto footballers, starting with the young Samu Aghehowa: “He is very young and has a strong presence, you can see it on the field by the respect he commands from defenders. He has a lot of physical power and goal-scoring ability. Football is a whole, you need to create, but you also always need someone capable at the front to score, to have that capability and composure.”

As for Rodrigo Mora, the striker stated: “I identified a lot with him, for the trajectory, for the path he took. I see Mora very favorably, and I root a lot for his success. He has done a great job, he is a can opener in tight spaces. He creates many imbalances, he is one of those who, out of nowhere, creates something.”

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