It’s official. Sergio Conceicao has finally left FC Porto after seven years, but not without putting up a fight.
The former midfielder waves goodbye to the club where he regularly made his name by punching above his weight in the Champions League knockout stages.
He does so less than two months after agreeing a four-year contract extension with former president Pinto da Costa on April 25. That deal became public on the eve of Porto‘s presidential elections, which Da Costa lost to former head coach Andre Villas-Boas who garnered a whopping 80% of the vote.
It quickly became clear that Villas-Boas was happy to move on from Conceicao, and the timing seemed right with the 49-year-old happy to talk to AC Milan, and later Marseille where he looks set to end up.
However, things became complicated when it emerged that Villas-Boas would be hiring his right-hand man, Vítor Bruno.
It was widely reported that an angry Conceicao would refuse to waive his contract extension out of anger, and although he’s reversed that protest, he still alluded to the ‘betrayal’ in his farewell statement.
In a letter sent to the media, he said: “Today I announced the termination of the contract signed with Futebol Clube do Porto on April 25th of this year. It was a period of 7 years and 11 titles, of great sporting achievements the history of our club.
“Recent events, namely the breach of trust in a member of my technical team, the interference in its integrity and cohesion without my knowledge, leave me exhausted and disillusioned.
“I went public to tell the truth of the facts, including the following points:
- The renewal of April 25th, in which I made a point of including a clause that today allows me to leave FC Porto, without any cost to the club. That was the commitment that was made. I took over with President Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, but above all with the members of Futebol Clube do Porto.
- The renewal with my remaining technical team, which has already been commented on by them and which followed the usual timing of these processes.
- The delay in this process, which came up against a reluctance to put into practice, something that for years kept the club at the hegemony of Portuguese football, a discourse of integrity and transparency legitimized by the members.
“It was always loyalty to this club that kept me here. It was also because of this same loyalty towards the people who have been with me here for over 30 years and towards the members of Futebol Clube do Porto, that I take this step today.
“It will not be a breach of values and betrayal by others that will make me question my own values and my word. As I promised, I leave Futebol Clube do Porto with the same dignity with which I entered. It wasn’t money that I came here for, and it’s not money that I want to leave with.
“I leave with a sense of duty accomplished. There are 17 titles that I leave as a contribution, from the national junior championship [as a player] in 1991/92, to the last Portuguese Cup.
“I thank each and every one of our fans for the support I have felt since I was 16 years old, when my father left me at the door of the Estádio das Antas.
“I also thank my technical team, all the support staff at Olival and Dragão. To all the players who allowed us to celebrate so many titles in these 7 years.
“And above all to my family, who helped me carry the weight of being FC Porto’s coach for the last 7 years.
“Forever, one of you.
Sérgio Conceição”
Leave a Reply