Rodrigo Mora: Happy to stay at FC Porto after Al-Ittihad move fell through | OneFootball

Rodrigo Mora gave a long interview to this Thursday's edition of the newspaper O Jogo, in which he addressed several topics, starting with the fact that, in the last summer transfer window, he was very close to moving to Al-Ittihad Jeddah – a Saudi club now managed by Sérgio Conceição – for around 70 million euros.

“I think that wasn't easy for me either. There was a lot of talk, and I tried to distance myself from it. But honestly, I think it doesn't matter much now, I stayed at FC Porto and I'm very happy about it, it's my club and I hope to stay here for many years. I have no doubt that the right choice was to stay here, and I am evolving more and more in all aspects of the game, I am a much more complete player,” he began by stating.

“I think it was a year of learning, a very important year for me. It was a year in which I grew a lot in all aspects, a period in which I managed to stand out in FC Porto's main team, which was my dream, and it is being a year of learning. I can only hope that 2026 will be even better,” he added.

Losing space with Farioli “is part of it”

The under-21 international also explained how his relationship has been with the Dragons' coach, the Italian Francesco Farioli, whose arrival – along with the signing of Gabri Veiga by Al-Ahli Jeddah for 15 million euros, plus four million in bonuses – took away some of his space in the team.

“I think these kinds of things are part of it. I am still very young, I am 18 years old and it's part of playing sometimes and not playing other times. I think that's also how you see that the group is united. It's important, sometimes, for one to play, and in the next game, another to play, and everyone accepts that. When we come in, it's always to give our best,” he emphasized.

“If you analyze my game from last season and compare it to this one, I believe I am a completely different player, I am much better defensively, coming to get the ball... I am a different player. I think about the game in another way, and, for me, that's better because there was evolution in all aspects, and I become a much more complete player,” he continued.

“Defensively, they know that I... Well, I have always been dedicated at that level, but I was never so focused on it. However, they always told me that aspect was necessary, and I know it is necessary for the team. Therefore, they always helped me in that part, and also to come get the ball more often, I think it's also important for me, to have more contact with it. In summary, they helped me in many things,” he concluded.

“I just want to be national champion and celebrate at Aliados”

Asked about the best moment of 2025, Rodrigo Mora recalled goals and remarkable experiences: I think I scored some beautiful goals, but I can highlight the one I scored against Boavista, at Bessa, I think it was a good goal. I lived many beautiful moments, but of course, I also went through difficult moments. However, that's part of the process, and I hope next year will be much better.”

To conclude, the young promise pointed to the group's unity as the key to FC Porto's positive season and revealed the only personal goal for 2026: Personally, I don't have any, honestly. I just want to be national champion and celebrate at Aliados. That's really the only thing I want for 2026.”

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