The multi-million bid for Hulk FC Porto rejected: “No need for more money” | OneFootball

Hulk signed for FC Porto in 2008, after playing for Japan’s Tokyo Verdy, and stayed at the club until 2012, when he moved to Russia’s Zenit. Even so, the Brazilian international’s career could have taken a different path, as he had been on the radar of Premier League clubs.

“I spent four years at FC Porto and in every transfer window there was a chance I could move to England. But FC Porto always held on to me, saying they didn’t want to sell me… In 2011, we won the Europa League and became unbeaten national champions in that incredible season, and FC Porto sold Falcao to Atlético Madrid. Right after that, they received a €60 million offer from Manchester City for me. I only found out later, and FC Porto said they wouldn’t sell me. The club had just sold Falcao and didn’t need to raise any more cash,” Hulk, now 40, began by revealing in an interview with Romário’s YouTube channel, Baixinho.

The former Dragons player also recalled his move to Zenit in 2012 for €40 million: “Villas-Boas went to Tottenham and tried to take João Moutinho and Álvaro Pereira, but he couldn’t sign them and the transfer window in Europe closed. The market in Russia was still open for another week and I was the only player with a Russian offer, from Zenit. I thought about it a lot, because I also had a renewal offer from FC Porto. I felt it was the right time to leave. I was going to play in the Champions League and I decided to try a different kind of football. They were investing heavily. They also brought in Witsel, Eto’o also went to Russia at that time… That weighed heavily, not just the financial side,” explained Hulk, now 40 and playing for Fluminense, recalling that his move to the Saint Petersburg club created “some unease in the dressing room, especially among the Russian players.”

Hulk also revealed episodes of racism he experienced during his time in Russian football and recalled another case that happened while he was still playing for FC Porto: “I even asked to leave, but the president wouldn’t allow it. The opposition fans with racist chants… I asked God to give me wisdom. Then there came a point when I was caught by surprise, they started chanting against me from one corner and I started blowing kisses to the stands,” he says, without forgetting another racist act he was subjected to while still at FC Porto: “It also happened in Portugal — I only saw it later, in a video, where I even ended up scoring a goal [against Benfica, at the Estádio da Luz, in 2011/12].”

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