Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas has guaranteed that, to the disappointment of many people, Colombian forward Luis Suárez will remain at the club, speaking in Santo Tirso on Sunday.
Varandas addressed transfer speculation involving Fenerbahçe, explaining that Suárez had been used as an electoral bargaining chip by a potential candidate who promised the player a net salary of 10 million euros per year.
The Sporting president highlighted the player's professionalism and praised his sensational season. Referring to reported discontent, Varandas noted ironically that rival Portuguese clubs Benfica and FC Porto would love to see Suárez leave. He pointed to Saturday's match, where Suárez scored the team's third goal and was embraced by the entire squad, as clear proof of team unity.
Varandas highlighted Suárez's statistics from last season, during which the Colombian scored 38 goals and provided seven assists. He noted that over the past 50 years at Sporting, only Viktor Gyökeres, Mário Jardel, and Manuel Fernandes have matched that goalscoring output for the club.
Speaking on the sidelines of the national handball Super Cup in Santo Tirso, Varandas said he evaluates players both as a supporter watching matches and as a president observing daily training. He stated that Suárez worked untiringly for the club in every training session and match, regardless of whether Sporting won or lost.
Training ground incident with Rui Borges
Varandas also downplayed a recent disagreement between Suárez and manager Rui Borges, connecting the moment of frustration to the situation with Fenerbahçe. The player had left a training session frustrated, believing practice had already finished. However, because his return to pre-season was delayed by his participation in the World Cup, he still had extra physical training to complete.
Rui Borges called Suárez back in front of his teammates, and the forward completed the extra workload. Reflecting on his career since entering football management in 2008, Varandas noted that he has won three league titles and witnessed physical fights between players that were never reported in the press. He remarked that professional football is neither the army nor a group of Boy Scouts, describing the incident as a normal occurrence.
Transfer market plans and player futures
Looking ahead to the remainder of the transfer window, Varandas acknowledged the possibility of two new signings arriving at Sporting's Alvalade stadium in Lisbon.
The president also addressed potential squad departures. Regarding reports linking defender Gonçalo Inácio to Spanish club FC Barcelona, Varandas stated that Sporting has not yet been contacted by the Catalan side. Meanwhile, discussing midfielder Pedro Gonçalves, Varandas acknowledged that the player holds financial ambitions that were discussed during his contract renewal. While Gonçalves maintains an expectation that he might eventually leave Sporting, Varandas added that it remains uncertain whether a transfer will take place.
