Daniela Santos swaps Benfica for FC Porto: “Here for more titles” | OneFootball

Daniela Areia Santos is a new signing for FC Porto and arrives at the Dragão with her ambition clearly on display, at a time when the club is preparing for its debut in the top tier of women’s football. The 22-year-old centre-back leaves Benfica and arrives with valuable experience, a spell with the senior national team, and a clear idea of what led her to change clubs. Speaking about the new challenge, she summed up the tone of her decision and assured: “I will give my best.”

This is a time of building and establishing FC Porto’s women’s football project, and the arrival of Daniela Areia Santos fits that plan. Originally from the Azores, the centre-back began her journey on the mainland at an early age, moved through various competitive levels, and now emerges as another key piece in a project that wants to make a winning start on the biggest stage. The message running through her words is simple: ambition, hard work, and readiness to compete.

Presented as a new signing for FC Porto, Daniela Santos first spoke about the weight of the project and what she found in the blue-and-white proposal. She did not hide her excitement about wearing the new shirt or her attraction to a demanding competitive environment.

“I am very happy to sign for a club as big as FC Porto. I hope to contribute to winning many trophies and I will give my best,” she said. “I came because of the project, because it is such a big club looking for new achievements and so ambitious. Coming to FC Porto means wanting to achieve more and being able to play on the biggest stages. I hope to find a very ambitious dressing room, united and ready to win many trophies.”

In these statements, there is a clear embrace of that level of expectation. Daniela is not presenting herself as just another signing: she sees herself as aligned with an idea of growth and with the winning mentality FC Porto wants to establish from the very foundation of this new cycle.

When asked to describe herself, the centre-back chose two words that help frame the profile she brings to the club. Right after that, she went back to the beginning of the biggest change in her career and life, when she left the Azores at a very young age.

“I am a resilient player, one who always gives everything and never gives up. I am a player who works very hard.”

That image of resilience then gained deeper biographical meaning, in an answer where she connected the past to the present moment.

“It was difficult, because I came from a completely different world, but the difficulties I went through turned me into a more mature and more developed person,” she explained. “That allowed me to get here as a much more grown person and ready for new challenges.”

The picture that emerges from these words is that of a player shaped by adaptation. Her early move, far from being a side note, appears as a central part of the competitive identity Daniela wants to establish at FC Porto.

Her recent experience with Liga BPI teams also came up, as a decisive stage in her competitive development. Daniela Santos treated those years as a foundation for the present and as a springboard to higher goals.

“They were crucial years that gave me a lot of experience and maturity and that allow me to be a player more capable of helping the team, and I am ready to win many trophies,” she stressed. “I would like to be part of the Portuguese national team regularly and to keep growing every day.”

Between the lines, you can sense a player who arrives aware of the path she has taken and hungry for more. Collective ambition coexists here with a clearly stated individual goal, without shifting the focus from what she can add to the team.

International experience, moreover, was not treated as a minor detail. Her debut for the senior national team came up in her words as an emotional milestone and as validation of a journey built through hard work.

“It was the fulfilment of a dream. Reaching the senior national team is the culmination of a lot of hard work and the fulfilment of a dream. I hope I can continue representing Portugal.”

It is a statement that reinforces the competitive pedigree she brings to FC Porto’s dressing room. In a group being formed to face a new reality, that recent experience in demanding environments may carry weight beyond the position she occupies on the pitch.

Turning to her relationship with the stands, Daniela Santos left a short and direct promise to FC Porto’s supporters. Without embellishment, she chose commitment as her calling card.

“I will give everything for this shirt and always fight until the end. I hope to be very happy together with our supporters.”

The closing matches the rest of the presentation: commitment, ambition, and an early sense of belonging. Even before she starts competing in blue and white, Daniela Santos wanted to make it clear what she has come for.

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