Varandas picks Champions quarters or the Cup? Clear answer | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas once again explained the model that has allowed Sporting to grow financially while maintaining a strong investment in football, highlighting the importance of the Champions League and player development. At the Portugal Football Summit, the Sporting president argued that the club needs to combine sporting success with financial sustainability, pointing to Viktor Gyokeres and Issa Doumbia as examples of the type of player the Lions are looking for. He also said that he would rather reach the Champions League quarter-finals than win a Taça de Portugal.

“It is harder to buy €30 million players than to sell €70 million ones. You cannot ask passion to be rational. There is someone earning 600 euros a month who spends 500 on a Gamebox. Of course that person is passionate and there is irrationality. Sporting need Gyökeres, Doumbias and players who help Sporting grow and then, after delivering on the pitch, generate capital gains,” he explained.

The executive also revealed that Champions League participation directly influenced the signing of two reinforcements in the last transfer window: “We would not have signed two players if there had been no Champions League in the last window. I have a cold view of what a Sporting player is. We have to understand that a player has his goals, his development and, at some point, his end. We must thank them for what they did, put their name in Sporting’s history and then go and get others. We cannot keep a Gyökeres for four or five years. If that happens, it is because something went wrong.”

The Champions League therefore plays a central role in Sporting’s strategy. Varandas described the competition as “indispensable” and recalled that last season’s campaign, which ended in the quarter-finals, brought in around 80 million euros for the club. “A sporting performance like that meant 80 million euros for Sporting and I would trade a Champions League quarter-final for any Taça de Portugal. If you give me the choice, I want everything, but if I could choose, I would always choose that. 80 million euros provide the financial conditions for us to remain highly competitive, so the Champions League is the number one objective,” he said.

He also took the opportunity to again defend Rui Borges, especially in the face of criticism over keeping the coach. Varandas highlighted the results achieved in the Champions League and recalled the victory over Galatasaray: “Recently I was hammered for keeping a coach who doesn’t win, but what about the Champions League? Maybe someone should let Galatasaray know, because they seem convinced they didn’t lose, but they did lose! Champions League, Turkish champions, a team that strengthens from Bayern, Man. City, Milan, with three times our wage bill... we picked up three points, but also 2.1 million. A coach’s performance has several dimensions, but this one is not valued,” he said.

Varandas ended his remarks by reinforcing the financial progress achieved by Sporting since 2018. The SAD posted a profit of 34.7 million euros in 2025/26, the fifth consecutive financial year with positive results, while turnover rose from around 150 to 300 million euros and equity went from 13 million negative to 76 million positive. “We will never bite off more than we can chew, even if there is hysteria that winning is very important. When it was the league title, it was the second in a row, then after two in a row it was three in a row... winning is very important, but we want to win with sustainability and a guarantee for the future. I am calm, because whatever happens, Sporting will have the conditions to be competitive again and fight for the title again. We are not on a roller coaster,” he concluded.

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