Fresh off the pitch where FC Porto beat Atlético Madrid (1-0) in their opening match, Samu joined Porto Canal's post-match panel and thanked “everyone who came to support” a team that is “working together and on the right track, which is the most important thing.”

“Happy and enthusiastic”, just as “you can see that people are”, the Spanish international striker reinforced his desire to “put FC Porto where it deserves to be” – “we can't stay in third place, we have to fight for titles and bring joy to the fans” - before expressing his satisfaction with a system that gives him “more contact with the ball”, brings “the midfielders closer” and allows him to grow in “combination with his teammates”.

Asked to leave a message to the Samu of ten years ago, the striker emphasised that “all the work” he did, as well as his “mother's sacrifice”, paid off: “I am fulfilling a dream, playing for a major European club and the best in Portugal. I want to improve and go even further.”

Unity and focus
“I want to thank all the fans who came to support us. I am very happy and excited, and I can see that the fans are too. We are on the right track and working together, which is the most important thing.”

The right mindset
“We are coming off a difficult season, but we have to put FC Porto where it deserves to be. This club cannot stay in third place; it has to fight for titles and bring joy to the fans.”

The new system
“I am having more contact with the ball, the midfielders are closer, and that can improve my connection with my teammates. I think I am improving in that aspect.”

Congratulations to the team
“I am a player who likes to be in the box, and in training we try to link up and create situations that come up in games. Little by little, we are improving, and I am very happy for the team. Everyone helps to get the ball to me more often.”

Reaping the rewards of hard work
“All the work I’ve done since I was a child and the sacrifices my mother made have paid off. I’m fulfilling a dream, playing for a big European club and the best in Portugal, but I want to improve and take FC Porto even further.”