Thierry Correia flirts with Sporting again, recalls hurt: I replied... | OneFootball

Thierry Correia admitted that leaving Sporting for Valencia happened too soon and acknowledged that he left Alvalade feeling that he still had unfinished business. In an interview with the newspaper A Bola, the right-back recalled the move to Spain and confessed that he was not ready to leave the Lions at the age of 20.

Asked whether he had left too early, the Portugal international was straightforward: "That’s a good question. I was 20 years old. But nowadays we see players aged 16 or 17 already performing at the highest level. I feel that I left and I wasn’t ready. And it happened suddenly, as I had no intention of leaving. I intended to make the most of my time in the first team, because I was living out a childhood dream and suddenly, after reaching that goal, they told me: 'there’s a chance you could leave'. I replied that I didn’t want to at first, but due to circumstances I ended up leaving".

The defender also explained that the move to Spain did not go as he had imagined. "I ended up arriving at Valencia too early. And on the very day I was due to start training, they sacked the coach who had signed me, Marcelino García Toral. Then Celades came in and after that I still had several coaches before I started to establish myself," he revealed.

Despite making only seven appearances for Sporting’s first team before the transfer, Thierry Correia insists that the fee paid by Valencia never had much impact on his decision. "No, when they told me the transfer fee, I was fairly indifferent to it, because it was an agreement between the clubs. I was 20 years old and I wanted to play," he said. The player also admitted that it mattered that the Lions had other options for his position: "I knew Sporting had two right-backs signed for the first team. They had just brought in Rosier, who was supposedly going to be the starter at that time, and at Valencia I knew I would be signed to be the second choice. I thought I would get more minutes and in the end I didn’t. But everything is a learning experience".

The Portugal international also acknowledged that he feels he left a story unfinished at Alvalade. "Actually, I feel that a little," he replied when faced with the idea that his time at Sporting had been left unfinished. Even so, he did not hide his desire to return to the club in the future: "Yes, I’d like at least to be able to represent Sporting, which is the club that developed me".

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