Tavares: “Olympiacos will have great motivation after last year’s final – I hope to stay at Real”

Speaking to “AS”, Mr Eddie Tavares stressed that he is waiting for the reaction of Olympiakos after the defeat in last year’s final of the Euroleague against Real Madridsince the pair from last year’s final will face each other in the second time semi-final, of Final Four of the Euroleague to be held in Berlin (24-26/5). The tall man from Cape Verde even spoke about his future to the “queen”, with his contract expiring next June.

Regarding the semi-final with Olympiakos, he said: “I remember when we lost by one point to Efes (in 2022), our motivation to repeat the final and try again was very high. And we got it. I suppose something like this happens with Olympiakos who will have raised their ambitions”.

How he feels about the club advancing to a 5th Final Four in 7 years: “We have a very good team and a chance to do something huge. My dream is to win it all, the four titles of the season, because this is one of the best teams since I came. We are complete in all aspects, people who can fill any position and the big shame is Dek’s injury. We have a good team, but what happened last year with Olympiakos who swept the regular season but lost to us in the final, it can always happen.”.

As for whether it affects him how his contract expires, he said: “No, it doesn’t affect me. People have said that I wasn’t that good because of the renewal, but because of everything that happened to me this season, which just coincided with the end of my contract. Finishing my contract doesn’t stop me from playing. You must always do things right because then what is yours, what you are waiting for will come. Or not, but you have to give your best and it will show. You can’t save energy or think that if you get injured you won’t have a contract here or somewhere else.”.

While then about what he would like to happen he answered: “I hope we reach an agreement and I stay in Madrid. I am happy here, my two children are from Madrid, we love the culture, the city, the way the people are, the way they live, what Real Madrid stands for, how things are overcome at the club, their spirit, their their desire. To win like we saw recently in the Champions League against Bayern… Being here is very satisfying for me and it makes me improve, because you can’t relax, you always have to give everything to win. You never know, although I hope to stay”.