Pontense: “Olympiacos was my best decision – After the Conference League there wasn’t much left to do in Europe”

Full interview in Portuguese “A Bola”on the occasion of his move to Saudi Arabia and Al Shabaab, granted the Daniel Pontense.

The experienced Portuguese winger spoke about his transfer from Sporting at Olympiakos and the manner in which he left the Lions, justifying his motives, while speaking in the best words of the Piraeus and their world, saying that he always felt supported by them, regardless of the outcome.

Finally, he also talked about his transfer to Al Shabaabnoting that his conquest Conference League last season, he played a catalytic role, since it was his… ceiling in European stadiums!

What Podense said in detail:

On his transfer from Sporting to Olympiakos: “I feel that Portugal is not the ideal place to develop and look for a career once you leave, for a number of reasons. Yes, I did not leave Portugal in the best way, but above all because it is very… noisy. There is not that much noise in England, not even in Greece for foreign players, at least I didn’t feel it. I’ve always been a bit far from it. One of the reasons is that everything is always very controversial in Portugal. And the other is that because I feel better abroad, I don’t know if I have a more restful life, but in terms of my adaptation to the countries I lived in, I managed to adapt and never felt the need to return to Portugal. In a football context, both in the Premier League and in Greece, I think they have a similar and better football than Portugal. In terms of family, I feel that I have adapted very well and I don’t see the need to go back, as is the case with many players.”

On whether he regretted the way he left: “I don’t know, it was a very special situation, I don’t know what I would do today. I know that the decision I made was difficult, but at the same time very right, because I went to Olympiakos, which opened doors for me to things I never expected. I don’t regret anything and on the contrary if it was today I would leave again for Olympiakos as it was the best possible exit. I was very happy there, then I managed to go to the Premier League, the best league in the world. And Wolves is an incredible club, where I spent some very good years. And today I would do the same, although it hurt me to leave Sporting like that.”

On his bond with Olympiakos fans: “I understand that it may have upset friends of Sporting or Wolves but I wanted to thank the Olympiakos fans, because it was a club and a group of fans that supported me while I was there, win or lose. He always supported me. Everyone put a lot of pressure on me to return to Olympiakos. I left at my zenith and my family and I felt the influence. I don’t think I felt it anywhere else, so it would be unfair not to treat the friends of Olympiakos as they deserve.”

On his decision to go to Saudi Arabia: “I think winning a European competition is something that I felt was unexpectedly what I was looking for. After I achieved it, I felt there wasn’t much left to do in Europe. Coming to Saudi Arabia at this time with the growth it has, I think it was a very good step for my career. I had Wolves but I felt it wasn’t a project I was interested in at the moment. This for me was a very important step. I like challenges, I felt it was a very big challenge for me and I had to accept it.”