Portuguese Football in English
Two more Portuguese players were announced by Serie A clubs over the last 24 hours, as Francisco Conceição joined Juventus from FC Porto and Rui Patrício signed with Atalanta on a free transfer.
Chico Conceição will earn Porto an initial €7m fee for his one-year loan at Juve, which could rise to €10m depending on add-ons, after which the Bianconeri will likely have an option to make the deal permanent. Patrício had been without a club since leaving Roma at the end of last season.
João Félix has completed his permanent transfer to English Premier League club Chelsea, joining the Blues on a 7-year contract from Atletico Madrid.
Chelsea reportedly paid a fee of €52m to sign Félix with no add-ons, while Atletico will retain a sell-on fee. Félix rejoins the club where he spent the second half of the season on-loan in the 2022-23 campaign.
The 2024/25 Premier League season kicks off this evening as Manchester United, featuring Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, host Marco Silva’s Fulham at Old Trafford.
As has been the case in recent years, Portuguese players will be playing a prominent role at a host of clubs.
You can even argue that Portugal is currently the country that provides the highest number of top-quality foreign players in the world’s most high-profile league.
Well, PortuGOAL will be putting that thesis to the test this season in an international EFL fantasy football league.
Bruno Fernandes has committed his future to Manchester United, signing a contract extension that ties him to the club until the age of almost 33.
The United captain still had two years left on his deal at Old Trafford, but Fernandes has been rewarded for remaining an inspirational figure during the club’s turbulent form across recent years.
Fenerbahçe 1-1 Lille (aet) (1-2 aggregate)
José Mourinho suffered a major early setback in his tenure as Fenerbahçe manager after the Turkish giants were knocked out of Champions League qualifying by Lille on Tuesday.
Fener levelled their 2-1 first-leg deficit with a dramatic stoppage time goal to make it 1-0 in normal time. However, towards the end of extra time Lille were awarded a controversial penalty, which Jonathan David converted to send the French outfit into the play-offs.
