“UEFA? V. Guimarães and Arauca did not go there to do anything”

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, president of FC Porto, attended the Think Football Summit on Friday, which will be held in Porto.

At this event, in addition to revealing the features of Otavio’s move to Al-Nassr, the manager was asked about Portugal’s loss of competitiveness on the European scene, at club level.

Pinto da Costa blames UEFA’s points system: “Clubs that go to the Champions League, in general, have good performances, and points to maintain. This new “secret” league or whatever its name is, where Arouca was… the conference league, it’s ridiculous that a league whose name only one or two people know is worth the same value as winning the Champions League final, it’s unimaginable. It was UEFA that made the decision, not in favor of Portugal. The points scored by Porto, Benfica or Braga in the Champions League must be shared with Vitoria de Guimarães and Arauca, who did not go there to do anything.

The FC Porto president also spoke about the current state of Portuguese football, comparing it to Cristiano Ronaldo’s “circus”. “Portuguese football has the best managers, see the state of the league, headed by Pedro Proença and the federation, led by Fernando Gomez, the best coaches, and the best players. In terms of organisation, people who have been requested abroad like Antero Henrique and now Domingo Soares de Oliveira, have everything to be good. […] When I talk to footballers directly, they all think I’m right. What do we have that others do not have? Social communication hurts whoever hurts it. “We watch TV for hours and hours talking about football,” Bento da Costa said.