Portuguese Football in English
Turkish club Besiktas announced on Monday that veteran Portuguese international defender Pepe has terminated his contract with the club with immediate effect.
The former Porto and Real Madrid defender has been with the Istanbul club since the summer of 2017 after ten years in the Spanish capital, but is now able to speak to other clubs over the winter period as a free agent.
Portugal Under-20 international midfielder Domingos Quina scored his first Premier League goal this weekend for Watford in their 3-2 win over Cardiff City. Rafael Leão was also on target for Lille in France, making it an exiting weekend for two potential Seleção hopefuls.
Elsewhere, Pedro Caixinha’s Cruz Azul lost the Liga MX final to America in Mexico, while José Mourinho’s Manchester United went down 3-1 at arch rivals Liverpool and José Fonte was sent off for Lille. There were also goals this weekend for Cristiano Ronaldo in Italy and Ivan Cavaleiro in England, while Daniel Candeias scored a winner in Scotland and João Amaral bagged a brace in Poland.
Former Manchester United winger Nani says José Mourinho is the best coach the club could have to turn around their troublesome season, as the Portuguese boss prepares for what could be a busy and potentially defining Christmas period with the Old Trafford club.
Meanwhile in England, André Gomes has been reflecting on his outstanding start to life at Everton, while his boss Marco Silva already fields questions about the midfielder’s future amid interest from elsewhere. There is also interest across England in Porto youngster Diogo Queirós.
Portuguese internationals João Cancelo and Gonçalo Guedes are out of action until next year after both picked up injuries that required surgery this week at Juventus and Valencia respectively.
Meanwhile, Seleção midfielder Rony Lopes' long wait for a return to action with French Ligue 1 club Monaco continues, after already missing a third of his team’s season with a thigh injury.
There is no information or statistics proving that the English Premier League is the best football league in the world. It is an old discussion that will go on and on. But, undoubtedly, the EPL is the most followed football league in the world and is the top league in terms of marketing and financial success.
Its competitiveness, history and money have attracted many of the world’s elite footballers and coaches, and the Premier League also stands out because of its high intensity and attacking style of football throughout the 90 minutes. Nowadays the EPL is increasingly acquiring a distinctly Portuguese flavour, as players and coaches who started out in the Primeira Liga make their way to England for a slice of the action.
