FC Porto return to the Champions League, new chapter for André Villas-Boas | OneFootball

The future is already on the horizon for FC Porto, and André Villas-Boas is preparing to add another first to his time as president of the blue-and-white club. At stake is the Champions League, a competition he has already taken part in as a coach and which now opens a new chapter in the Porto leader’s first term.

After a season in which they won their first national championship title, there is still plenty of work to do, especially after the team has already lost some players who were decisive in that achievement.

With a coach who will also be making his debut in Europe’s elite competition, it will certainly be a special moment for André Villas-Boas and Francesco Farioli to hear the Champions League anthem again at the Estádio do Dragão.

As a coach, the current FC Porto president never went beyond the quarter-finals, when he was in charge of Zenit of Russia in 2015/16, and was knocked out by Benfica.

To try to overcome that mental barrier, Villas-Boas will have to create the right conditions for Francesco Farioli, with reinforcements capable of making up for the already confirmed departures of Thiago Silva, Seko Fofana, Terem Moffi and Luuk de Jong, players who brought a great deal of experience to the blue-and-white squad.

The Champions League millions and the market record

Winning the Primeira Liga did not just bring another trophy to the FC Porto museum. It also guaranteed direct access to the Champions League league phase and, with that, boosted the club’s coffers with millions available to invest in the new squad for 2026/27.

Although the exact amount that will go into the accounts of the blue-and-white club’s SAD has not yet been defined, the figures are expected to be at least similar to those of this season, when each team reaching the league phase received around €18.62 million.

In this context, FC Porto now has a significant budget to decide whether to continue investing heavily in the early transfer windows of the season or opt for more targeted moves to strengthen the squad and cover the departures.

It is worth remembering that the Dragons had the most expensive transfer market in their history last summer, spending a total of €111.35 million, including the €17 million paid to acquire the remaining share of Samu Aghehowa’s rights.

That investment paid off for the blue-and-white club, which may now take a calmer approach in this transfer window, and could even once again bet on world stars on short-term contracts, as happened with Thiago Silva and Luuk de Jong, or on one-season loans, such as Seko Fofana’s, who had a very strong impact on FC Porto’s style of play, especially on Francesco Farioli’s ability to rotate the squad.

The 2026 World Cup may not cause Villas-Boas too many ‘headaches’

With the absence of national teams such as Denmark or Poland, it is less likely that the 2026 World Cup will become a headache for FC Porto when it comes to planning.

So far, only Diogo Costa is part of Portugal’s final squad, so if he has a great World Cup, it could cause a real earthquake in the Dragons’ goal.

Deniz Gul has also been included in Turkey’s list of 35 preliminary call-ups, so it is still unknown whether he will represent his country or stay at home following the matches.

In this way, the Polish trio of Bednarek, Kiwior and Pietuszweski, as well as Victor Froholdt, are less exposed to a possible departure this summer, since the World Cup usually serves as a shop window for surprise performers that Europe’s giants look to take advantage of.

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