Vitinha: Play for Porto or nowhere else, declares love for club | OneFootball

In a recent interview with Canal 11, Vitinha was categorical when asked about a possible return to FC Porto: either he returns to the Dragão, or he does not come back to Portugal. Period.

The Portuguese midfielder, now at PSG and in one of the best phases of his career, confessed that the subject moves him – but he also showed the thoughtfulness and respect he holds for the shirt he once wore.

“For me, I play at Porto or I don’t play anymore,” he stated, without hesitation.

When questioned about the possibility of representing other clubs in Portugal – namely Sporting or Benfica – he responded with equal clarity: “Never, never, never.” And he explained: it would be a lack of respect, not for the rival, but for his own history and his Porto identity.

Vitinha did not limit himself to sentimentality. He demonstrated a maturity that goes beyond football romanticism. He acknowledged that returning to a place where you were happy does not always work out well; the last image is the one that remains, and he prefers to preserve the memory of having left through the Main Gate – in the Portuguese Cup final – rather than risk tarnishing that legacy.

“I left through the Main Gate in my last game. We won the Portuguese Cup, it’s my home. Do I really want to ruin that?” he asked, with disarming honesty.

It’s a reflection that few athletes make publicly. Vitinha did not promise a return, nor did he fuel illusions. He simply said that he would love to come back, that he feels Porto is home, that he could see himself training at Olival, heading to Tondela, welcoming Benfica at the Dragão – but that he does not know what the future will bring or what physical condition he will be in at that stage of his career.

It was clear that, for Vitinha, Porto transcends the status of a club: it is an identity. Identities are not exchanged.

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