Farioli on Rodrigo Mora transfer: “It was a financial decision” | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli, FC Porto’s head coach, commented on Rodrigo Mora’s departure to Roma. As reported by O JOGO, the Italian club is paying €25 million for half of the economic rights to the 19-year-old midfielder, with a further €2 million potentially to be added if certain targets are met. Roma may also buy the remaining 50 percent of the player’s rights for another €25 million. FC Porto holds a sell option for the same amount, making the purchase mandatory. The Italian coach assessed the deal and also compared the young Portuguese player’s use with that of Gabri Veiga.

“As you know, the last two weeks have been full of different opinions, let’s put it that way. A few days ago I gave some numbers about playing time, etc., and today I took notes so that we could have everything absolutely precise. But first of all, the decision and the fact that Rodrigo is leaving is a financial decision. As you know, the deal worth more than €50 million that was done represents the highest net amount for the club. It is the biggest transfer in AS Roma’s history and one of FC Porto’s five biggest ever. So it was definitely a very good market opportunity that brought in the money a club like Porto — which needs to sell in order to keep moving forward — requires. That is the first part,” he said.

“Second chapter: about the minutes and how much he played. I also heard it said that he was my third option or that I did not rate him that highly. Looking at the numbers — and I am not considering Transfermarkt’s figures, but our own numbers, which also count stoppage time, in other words the exact minutes — Rodrigo played a total of 1,946 minutes. Gabri [Veiga] played 2,699 minutes. In the league: 1,177 minutes for Rodrigo, 1,622 minutes for Gabri. In the Europa League: they played exactly the same, 433 minutes for Rodrigo, 442 minutes for Gabri. So I would say the gap is not that big. If we go by starts: Rodrigo 21 times, Gabri Veiga 31. Rodrigo came off the bench 23 times, Gabri Veiga 17. And, thank God, we managed to have them both, with Rodrigo injured for only two matches and Gabri also for two matches. Of course, when you have two players at the same level, you need to manage that. You need to manage according to the game, the results, and the needs,” he added.

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