Sérgio Conceição at Sporting? Villas-Boas accuses Lions of 'holy alliance' | OneFootball

André Villas-Boas addressed the possibility of Sérgio Conceição ending up as Sporting manager and, in the same appearance, leveled several criticisms at the Lions and Frederico Varandas, while also denouncing a “Holy Alliance” with Benfica. Porto’s president spoke upon arriving at Football Arena – Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, where the second edition of the Portugal Football Globes took place.

Asked directly whether the scenario of Sérgio Conceição at Sporting concerned him, Villas-Boas distanced himself from any decision by the former Porto coach, but offered strong praise. “Those are choices only he can make. He is an excellent coach, a historic figure at Porto, his career at Porto was brilliant, he gave us countless titles, he has a place in Porto’s memory that we will preserve forever, he is an honorable and dignified person. His choice of club is solely his concern.”

The executive then addressed relations between Porto, Sporting and Benfica and said that he was the one who tried to promote greater dialogue among the big three. “In reality, little has changed. If there was anyone who promoted a channel of communication between the big three, it was me, by sitting down at the table. When I realized it was two against one, I quickly stepped away.”

Villas-Boas went even further when speaking of a growing closeness between the two Lisbon rivals. “If there is one thing that is true and very evident, it is a holy alliance between Benfica and Sporting. We are Porto, we want what is best for Portuguese football,” he said, also pointing to disagreements surrounding the centralization of audiovisual rights.

Frederico Varandas was also directly targeted when the topic turned to refereeing. “Frederico Varandas doesn’t talk about refereeing? That’s a new development for the 2026/27 season. In the others, that’s not how he behaved,” shot back the Dragons’ president.

Pressed to explain what he meant by the “holy alliance,” Villas-Boas pointed to “aligned communication against Porto” as well as similar positions on matters related to the League and the Refereeing Council. The executive recalled that Sporting and Paulo Lopo were among the supporters of the current president of that body.

“Lisbon clubs trying to harm Porto? Naturally. Two against one is always easier than one against one”, Villas-Boas concluded, in remarks marked both by his response about Sérgio Conceição’s possible future at Sporting and by his criticism of the relationship between the Lions and Benfica.

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