Porto Sign Joao Moutinho
A divorce between Sporting and Joao Moutinho had been brewing for awhile but so him leaving isn’t a surprise. What is a surprise is the fact he’ll be playing for rivals Porto next season in a €11 million dollars deal plus defender Nuno Andre Coelho. It’s very rare a top Portuguese player goes from one big club to another. It’s usually like the case of Simao and Ricardo Quaresma who each didn’t make the mark at Barcelona before returning to Portugal.
Sporting Clube de Portugal finished 4th last year and in a quest to make a return to the Champions League it isn’t the smartest move to sell him to a fellow rival your trying to catch. Personally I’ve never seen Moutinho as Portugal’s answer to Deco but he is still only 23. Moutinho should of never been given the captaincy at age 20. Way too much pressure for a young player to handle as he had to shoulder much of the blame for the teams failures. Be interesting to see if Joao Moutinho can benefit from a fresh start with Porto or will turn into the next Hugo Viana (who damnit I still find a useful player.)