Villas-Boas: “Everyone here is Porto, no Benfica fan” | OneFootball

André Villas-Boas, president of FC Porto, addressed the club’s identity and financial recovery in two appearances: on former player Jon Obi Mikel’s podcast and at a seminar hosted by Diego Ribas. Between defending a structure made up of Porto supporters and the need to stabilize the accounts through future transfers, he drew a clear line for the club’s management and assured: “Everyone who works here supports Porto.”

André Villas-Boas’s remarks bring together two central pillars of his presidency: preserving what sets FC Porto apart and restoring the club’s financial room to maneuver. In different settings, the executive presented Porto’s culture as a competitive advantage and increasing the squad’s value as the way to keep reducing the debt.

On Jon Obi Mikel’s podcast, Villas-Boas started from the club-membership model to defend a way of running the club that is deeply tied to its identity. The president rejected the idea of a structure disconnected from the history and culture built by the members.

“There are not many member-owned clubs in the world at the moment. We compete on unequal terms with clubs that have several owners. All these clubs are very rich, of course, but member-owned clubs have a competitive advantage. We know where we are, what we are, we have our own history and culture, which was built by the members. Regardless of who the president is, he will always be responsible for carrying forward this culture that is already rooted in the club. At FC Porto, the employees have supported Porto since they were born, while at other clubs, different departments are often led by people from other cities, who think outside the box but do not have the cultural understanding needed to connect with the people who love the club. That’s not how we work,” he explained. “Everyone who works here supports Porto. We cannot have a Benfica supporter working in the marketing department, for example. We have to protect our culture, our history, what we represent and what we are.”

The message goes beyond a hiring preference: Villas-Boas presents knowledge of Porto’s culture as part of the club’s very way of operating. For the president, protecting that internal bond also means preserving the continuity of an identity that should not depend on whoever is in charge.

At the seminar hosted by Diego Ribas, the focus shifted to the financial situation he found upon returning to FC Porto. Villas-Boas described a scenario of intense pressure on cash flow and explained why the club moved ahead with sales during the season.

“When we arrived at FC Porto, the financial situation was terrible. We had eight thousand euros in the account, we had 15 million euros to pay within 15 days and we had 100 million euros due within four months. After that, we got to January, doing badly in the league, we were in third place, and we had to sell players. We sold Galeno to Al Ahli for 50 million, and we sold Nico González to Manchester City for 60 million,” he recalled. “So we raised another 110 million euros. We hired a top coach, young and ambitious, and gave the coach the biggest transfer window in FC Porto’s history, meaning we invested 100 million euros in players.”

After dealing with the immediate obligations and investing in the squad, the president pointed to the next stage. William Gomes, Samu, Froholdt and Diogo Costa were presented as assets capable of helping resolve the financial side.

“Now FC Porto has the most valuable squad in its history, 425 million. In principle, within this group of talent that we now have — William Gomes, Samu, Froholdt, Diogo Costa — we have the solution to the financial side,” he said. “From there, from the transfers of these players, we will truly begin to continue reducing the debt in a way that finally allows us to stabilize from an economic point of view.”

The plan described by Villas-Boas is therefore based on sporting development as a tool for economic recovery. Stabilization is not presented as something already achieved, but as a goal that depends on FC Porto’s ability to turn the squad’s talent into revenue and debt reduction.

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