Porto President Jorge Luis Pinto da Costa says he “regrets” appointing Julen Lopetegui as “I signed players who I hadn’t even heard of”.
Lopetegui was sacked in January after a poor run of results, but his reign as Coach was marked by a huge recruitment drive of Spanish players, and Pinto da Costa admitted he felt particularly “cheated” by Adrian Lopez – a €11m signing from Atletico Madrid who scored just once.
“I signed players who I hadn’t even heard of and were only endorsed by the Coach,” he told the Portuguese media, AS reports.
“In the case of Adrian [Lopez] I felt cheated. His agent told me to sell him for the same value.
“Did he know the campaign he had? I’d never heard of him and I trusted Lopetegui.
“Adrian arrived at Porto as a Champions League runner-up and with a League title under his belt.
“I left the team in his hands and he assured me that would build a great team. Some players didn’t even play.
“If you don’t play for Porto, it’s a failure. It’s my fault for trusting the wrong person, but it won’t happen again.”
