Villas-Boas: “Mora lawyer’s remarks forced an apology” | OneFootball

In the August edition of Dragões magazine, André Villas-Boas, on the page dedicated to the president, addressed Rodrigo Mora’s transfer to Roma and strongly criticized Luís Miguel Henrique, the player’s lawyer.

“In the middle of the negotiations for Rodrigo Mora’s transfer to AS Roma, an opportunist looking for the spotlight stepped onto the pitch: a commentator, a figure completely peripheral and irrelevant to the entire process, but thirsty for attention. His services as a lawyer had zero influence on the outcome of the negotiations between the Clubs, but his sad opinions forced the player’s parents to distance themselves from his words and the player’s agent to apologize to the Institution. The immorality of his stance and the disclosure of the details of the deal clash with the duty of confidentiality and professional discretion that governs lawyers. His disrespect toward FC Porto and, above all, toward FC Porto’s coach, will never be forgotten,” wrote André Villas-Boas, who also compared Rodrigo Mora’s move to Roma with Diego Moreira’s transfer to Milan, the winger developed at Benfica.

“This summer, two players developed at Portuguese clubs arrived in Italian football through deals with an academic benchmark of 50 million euros. Diego Moreira left Benfica on a free transfer, went through Chelsea, Lyon and Strasbourg, and has now arrived at AC Milan for 50 million euros. A talent developed in Portugal left the club that nurtured him without any direct return, moved through different leagues, and ended up generating one of the biggest sales in French football. There was no national mourning, no usual number-crunching, no constant outrage, or sudden concern over the loss of Portuguese talent. There was silence,” he noted, adding: “Rodrigo Mora followed a different path: he was developed at FC Porto, grew up at our Club, won our hearts, and arrived at AS Roma in a deal that values him at 50 million euros, guaranteeing FC Porto a significant immediate financial return and preserving a decisive stake in his future. Suddenly, concern, commotion, sadness and financial scrutiny set in, joined by the typical selective memory of the national ‘panel brigade.’ Losing a talent on a free transfer deserves no comment; valuing him at 50 million euros becomes a problem, as long as the credit and the return stay in the North.”

In the final part of his reflection, Villas-Boas admitted the possibility of Rodrigo Mora returning to the Dragão one day. “The perfect scenario will always be one in which scouting, youth development, sporting success and financial success come together at the right moment: a stable, powerful Club, without a doubt, capable of keeping its best talents for longer and of choosing, without constraints, when and under what conditions to let them go. That is the FC Porto we are working toward. Until we get there, sport is also made up of compromises, crossing paths, difficult decisions, and the need to protect both present and future sustainability, without giving up the obligation to keep winning. Rodrigo Mora joins Vitinha, Rúben Neves, Diogo Dalot, Fábio Vieira and Fábio Silva, homegrown sons who left early for other adventures and who continue to carry with them a part of our identity. Far from home but close to the heart. Dear Rodrigo, the Dragon that took you to Rome is the same one that will one day bring you back,” he concluded.

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