Estrela da Amadora confirms signing of Porto goalkeeper

Estrela da Amadora president Paulo Lopo has confirmed that the signing of Porto goalkeeper Francisco Meixedo is expected and that the departure of striker Regis Ndo is highly likely.

Paulo Lopo, who spoke to the press on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the new governing bodies for the four-year period 2024-2028, the period during which he will accumulate the leadership of SAD as president of the club, was once again adamant when it comes to the market.

“We have a preliminary agreement with Francisco Meixedo. It should come this week. Our professional football team is well structured, it is well strengthened. We have offers for Regis. From a financial point of view, they are very interesting, so it is likely that it will come out,” he admitted.

In terms of departures, Estrela da Amadora have already seen the departures of goalkeepers António Filipe and Dida, defenders Heverton Santos, Johnston Omurwa, Pedro Mendes, Lucao, Shing and João Reis, all at the end of their contracts, as well as Kialondo Gaspar (Lecce, from Italy), Luan Farias (Benfica B), Ronaldo Tavares (on loan at FC Seoul, from South Korea) and Mansour.

The Tricolors have already officially signed a contract with goalkeeper Marko Gudzulic (ex-FC Vozdovac, Serbia), defenders Danilo Veiga (ex-Rijeka, Croatia), Issiar Drame (ex-Bastia, France), Ferro (ex-Hajduk Split, Croatia), midfielders Paulo Moreira (ex-Varzim) and Daniel Carvalho (ex-Vitoria de Setubal), as well as forwards Thiago Mamede (ex-Sporting) and Andre Luis (ex-Flamengo, Brazil).

Paulo Lopo wants to make the club bigger and bigger

Placing Estrela da Amadora at the top of the sport in Portugal is the main goal of Paulo Lopo, who officially took office as president of the club this Wednesday following elections last Saturday.

The director, speaking to the press on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the new governing bodies for the four-year period 2024-2028, promised to invest heavily in promoting youth teams to national championships, but not only that.

“We also want to develop Estrela da Amadora in a new way. Look for new ways to make the club bigger and bigger. In addition, we also want to get the club in order financially, but we need to get our house in order and understand the current situation,” he said.

For Paulo Lopo, the fact that he combines the post of president of the club with the post of president of SAD, which he holds, is not a sign of a conflict of interests, but rather a union of two institutions with the aim of making them move in the same direction.

“This reality is a reality that we see more and more. It is much easier when the club works and speaks with one voice, because it has the same strategy, the same task, the same destiny. From here you can get added value. They are always much more. I am the president and owner of SAD, but this is not the most important thing, because the club is much bigger than SAD. I promise to continue working.

With the knot around the ownership of the José Gomes stadium almost untied, Paulo Lopo hopes he can wrap things up in the short term.

“The bankruptcy trustee was always prepared to write a document only for the stadium, not for bingo. Bingo appealed to the court, declaring the stadium’s priority right. It lost in the first and second instances. Today, we have permission from the judge to begin processing the stadium case as soon as the bankruptcy trustee plans to do so in the near future,” he concluded.

Paulo Lopo took over the management of SAD Tricolores in 2021/22 after the merger of Sintra Football with CD Estrela, which revived Estrela da Amadora, later renamed Club Football Estrela da Amadora SAD.

In last Saturday’s elections, covering the four-year period 2024-2028, Paulo Lopo became the 27th president, succeeding Ricardo Paiva, who took office in December following the resignation of José Francisco.