João Félix: “Return to Benfica? There was never a serious desire from the club.”

João Félix, Al Nassr player, spoke to Sport TV this Friday, commenting on his transfer to Al Nassr last summer when there was much talk of a possible return to Benfica. His career development, his good spell in Saudi Arabia, and some criticism of the “mentality” of Portuguese football were also among the topics the Portuguese international addressed.

Return to Benfica

“It was the club’s desire to have me, the truth is that I wanted to return to Benfica for the last three summers, it was always my wish, I always told my agents that, but there was never a serious desire on the part of the club. I don’t know whose, but my desire was always to return, the opportunity never arose, not because of transfer fees or salaries, nothing to do with that. It was always a matter of the other side’s willingness. So it didn’t happen, and Al Nassr came forward with more willingness and desire, and when that’s the case we can’t refuse.”

What has changed in your career?

“Nothing, I’m still me, the same player, the same qualities, the same desire. As I said, I always work to be the best I can be to help the team and the club. In football, sometimes things work out, other times they don’t, it’s the player’s fault, circumstances, and everything else. I think that at this moment, all the circumstances are in my favor, and that’s one of the reasons why things are going so well.”

Is returning to Benfica still a goal?

“I live very much in the moment, in the present. I don’t make plans for next year, or for two years from now, although of course I have some goals. But I live very much year by year, I’m happy at Al Nassr, focused here at Al Nassr, and that’s all I can say.”

How do you view Portuguese football?

“The reality is that I don’t watch much Portuguese football. I mostly follow Tondela because my brother plays there, and I watch all their games. But what I see and hear is that every day there are controversies and scandals; from Monday to Sunday, television channels talk about football, about this coach, this player, this club. I think that doesn’t help; it won’t make Portuguese football evolve because the reality is that Portuguese players have a lot of quality, they have everything to be among the best and play for the best teams. The mentality in Portugal is hindering the development of these players, coaches, and clubs. As long as they don’t change that, Portugal will stagnate, it won’t evolve, which is a shame because we have great players, great coaches, great clubs, with good ideas to succeed in Europe, and one day I think that’s what we should change a little bit about – the mentality.”