Pinto da Costa: “When I ran for president, I intended to stay for one year and then start elections”

On September 8, 2021, Pinto da Costa learned that he would have to face cancer, but still decided to run for the presidency of FC Porto.

“I did it, I didn’t know everything I know today, but I knew about my health status since 2021. When I ran for president, I intended to do it for a year and at the end of the year to initiate elections. “It was not, as they say, appointing someone as a successor,” said the honorary president of FC Porto in an interview with TVI, the first part of which was aired this Sunday.

“I was always against it, FC Porto is not a monarchy. There were two things that I really wanted and considered priorities at FC Porto. The first was the creation of an academy, I had it under the control of the Maia Municipal Council, a fantastic project with pavilions, pitches, a swimming pool. I wanted to do it and it was almost done,” he continued about the projects he had for the club.

“After I didn’t win, they put it aside, it’s bad for me, but now they are the ones in charge. I thought it was fundamental for the life of FC Porto. I also had a dream for Porto to become European champions. Again, I thought that for that to happen, it was necessary to keep Sergio Conceição. That’s why I signed Sergio before the elections and Pepe didn’t win the elections.

“I was very hesitant to apply and I applied only after I saw the direction in which things were going, the people who were involved in Andre Villas-Boas’s team, but I was aware that everything was arranged in such a way that there was a clear tendency towards the other side, but this did not intimidate me. In democracy there are victories and defeats. I hope they will do everything in their power and it will be good for Porto,” he finally wished.