Leonino
·10 ottobre 2025
Sporting vice-president admits transfer market is very tough

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Yahoo sportsLeonino
·10 ottobre 2025
Francisco Salgado Zenha admitted that it was very difficult for Sporting to sign players in the last summer transfer window, and warned of the growing competitiveness in the football market - Frederico Varandas also spoke about this topic. The green and white Vice President, responsible for the Club’s financial department, was present at the Football Summit, where he addressed the issue.
"Maybe it’s very obvious, it’s already happening, but I want to stress this: if you look at what happened in this summer market, it was very difficult to sign players. We were resisting selling and we had difficulties in signing. It’s a sign that the European market and the clubs abroad are already reaching that level where they don’t need to sell either," began the CFO of Sporting, who took part in a panel with the counterparts from Benfica and Porto.
Francisco Salgado Zenha continued his analysis: "So signing will become increasingly difficult. The financial situation of European clubs is increasingly robust. Either we in Portugal move in that direction of robustness, or we will have more difficulty keeping up with our competitors abroad."
"We have to think about centralizing rights and doing it efficiently. We have to think that when we do it, yes, solidarity, but be careful, because if we all lower the level and the big three lower their level, we won’t earn points in European competitions, we won’t be there and we’ll be in the Conference League. We must be very careful to make an efficient distribution of this pot. Associated with this pot, financial control. It is absolutely critical to give credibility abroad," he declared, speaking next about solutions to the financial problems of the national clubs.
The Sporting Vice President concluded with a word about the future: "We already know we manage football well. If you look at the trade balance for player transfers, everyone already knows that Portugal sells very well, manages very well, develops players well, recruits and knows how to sell. It’s no coincidence that we are the 20th or 21st European economy and in recent years always fighting for 6th place. There is something we do well. What we can’t miss the train on is that football is, and with the contribution of private investment, especially from Americans, moving to the next step."
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.