André Silva on returning to FC Porto: “My most emotional career call” | OneFootball

André Silva has returned to FC Porto, the club where he took his first steps in football, in a decision that, he admits, went far beyond a professional choice. With Manchester City marking the start of the Dragons’ Champions League campaign at the Estádio do Dragão, the Portuguese striker acknowledges the importance of his roots and his desire to shine once again on Europe’s biggest stage. And he assured: “FC Porto is the club of my heart.”

After playing for Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt and Leipzig, André Silva has returned to an environment he knows well and to which he feels deeply connected. The new European adventure is approaching, but the player made it clear that, when the time came to decide, feelings carried more weight than any purely rational analysis.

Looking back on the reasons behind his return, the striker admitted that the choice had a strong personal component.

“It was the most emotional decision of my career and the most difficult, if we analyze it only from a rational point of view,” he began. “FC Porto is the club of my heart. I grew up here, my family did too, and this is where I started playing football. That was undoubtedly the most emotional factor. The fact that FC Porto are playing in the Champions League also helped with the decision, but even if they weren’t, it would still be the club that means the most to me.”

The return therefore represents much more than a change of club. Taking part in the Champions League contributed to the decision, but André Silva’s bond with FC Porto, built since his earliest years, was decisive.

The chance to compete in Europe again is something the player views with ambition, although he also stresses the need to prove every day that he deserves that opportunity. The striker has made 28 appearances and scored ten goals in the competition.

“I always count on that possibility. But we have to work and show that we are at the level for it,” he added. “Twenty-eight matches and ten goals are decent numbers, even if they may not seem very impressive. My goal is always to improve myself, to give everything I have. And I believe the Champions League is one of the best stages to do that.”

André Silva sees those numbers as a starting point rather than a goal already achieved. In the opening clash against Manchester City, FC Porto will face a test of the highest demand, in a setting where the striker hopes to combine the emotion of his return with the ambition of regaining prominence among Europe’s elite.

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