Gonçalo Borges: Farioli wanted me to stay, but I’d decided to go | OneFootball

Gonçalo Borges gave a lengthy interview to this Wednesday’s edition of the newspaper O Jogo, in which he ‘opened up’ about the process that led to his departure from FC Porto in the last transfer window, heading to Feyenoord for a fee in the region of ten million euros, potentially rising to 11 million depending on the achievement of sporting objectives.

The 24-year-old forward effusively praised the Italian coach Francesco Farioli, whom he described as “a football man, a good person, who understands the various moments of the game,” and revealed that the coach had hinted he would count on him for the 2025/26 season – something that, however, did not prevent his departure from the Dragão.

“In the few weeks I worked with him, we created a bond, and it’s funny because, in a way, he didn’t want me to leave, but the decision had already been made. He’s a great coach, and that’s reflected in the group. This year, FC Porto has a fantastic squad,” the forward began by saying.

“What I had to play at FC Porto, I’ve already played. Obviously, I could have played more, but my time at the club is over, and I honestly think I couldn’t have chosen a better club than Feyenoord. I shared the locker room with William [Gomes], with Borja [Sainz], with Pepê, I’m great friends with them, they all have a lot of quality,” he added.

“William is having a good season, Pepê as well. They’re good people, good players. I’m not going to say ‘If I were there,’ because I’m not, and my greatest joy is being at Feyenoord,” he concluded.

“Farioli implemented an idea, which was what was missing last season”

In the end, the under-21 international stated that he has been following the evolution of the blue and white team with pleasure: “The weeks I worked in pre-season gave me very positive feelings, and that’s being reflected. New players have arrived, but the essence of the team hasn’t changed. You could say there were many changes and that last season’s results weren’t as good, but what’s happening now also has to do with the new atmosphere.”

“The coach implemented an idea, which was what was missing last season. I’m happy to see teammates with whom I shared the locker room and with whom I still speak often doing well. Last year, they weren’t the worst in the world, and now they’re not the best. The line between being very good or very bad is thin, depending on good or bad results. They’re winning, within the coach’s idea, and that’s very important,” he reflected.

“More than thinking about whether they’ll have the strength to win the championship, it’s important to have it to win the next games. The journey is made step by step, and in the end, you do the math. That’s how I experienced the locker room in 2021/22. The feeling was always to think game by game. Here at Feyenoord, we also have that mentality, always focused on the next match. That’s a characteristic of clubs used to winning and who have that hunger,” he concluded.

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