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 19th.

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 head to return to being the usual Pepê, cheerful, spontaneous, playful, and who loves playing football. I think all of that was crucial for me to resume and do what I love most, which is playing football with great joy,” he further explained.

The winger admitted to being more reserved in the previous season, as a result 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 why, but I felt things weren't going very well for me. I didn't have a good pre-season, the first games didn't help either. All of this affected my mind. I became more closed off, I wasn't myself. Generally, I'm always in a good mood and ready to help. Since things weren't happening the way I wanted, I ended up closing myself off. This, 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 was able to 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 same Pepê, and that affected me. They were right. I returned 100% focused to Portugal.”

“I think this is my best season. It's definitely my best start to a season. I had incredible moments at Grêmio too, but I prefer to look forward. What’s in the past... is in the past. 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 scored two goals and provided one assist in five games wearing the dragons' jersey this season.

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