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.