"It's a huge challenge. We are talking about a significant loss of value, around 40 million euros, [the difference] between the Champions League and the Europa League. FC Porto is in a situation of operational and treasury limits, resorting to advance revenues to operate day-to-day. We are not wasting time in establishing exploratory contacts for new commercial partnerships", said the candidate, on the sidelines of the presentation of three names for the executive committee of SAD.

FC Porto is currently in third place in the I League, when the championship qualifies the first two, currently Sporting and Benfica, for next year's Champions League.

According to the candidate, the club "has to focus on finishing its championship well and dream of lifting the Portuguese Cup", a competition in which it is in the semi-finals and qualifies for the Europa League.

On the other hand, he regretted "not having an answer from FC Porto to the questions" about the partner announced by the current management, led by Pinto da Costa, about a partner who expects "to be elite" in terms of capacity to help the club.

"These are businesses taken just a few days before the elections, we are very sorry", he criticized, before emphasizing the "historical" legacy of the current president.

Villas-Boas also expressed concern about some operational issues related to the April 27 electoral act, namely the lack of people, from within an internal convocation in the FC Porto group, to preside over the polling stations, but also "with inspection and delegates, superdelegates".

Otherwise, the former coach denied the names advanced in the press to assume the technical command of the club, including the Italian Gian Piero Gasperini, and did not confirm that the Spaniard Andoni Zubizarreta would be sporting director, although he recalled having worked with him and having "the greatest respect and elevation" for the former goalkeeper.

Villas-Boas today presented three names for the executive committee, with the area of business and international expansion handed over to Tiago Madureira, executive director of the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) between 2020 and 2023.

João Borges, on the other hand, will be in charge of the operations area, based on the curriculum marked by the administration of the Port of Aveiro and professional experience at Deloitte and Banco Carregosa, among others.

The legal and international relations department is in the hands of José Luís Andrade, current legal director of the European Club Association (ECA), having also been part of FIFA's legal department and worked as an in-house lawyer at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

These three names are joined by José Pedro Pereira da Costa, financial director, integrating an executive committee of SAD led by Villas-Boas.

The elections for the social bodies of FC Porto for the four-year period 2024-2028 are contested by three candidacies, led by Pinto da Costa (list A), André Villas-Boas (B), former coach of the football team, and Nuno Lobo (C), businessman and teacher, also including an independent list to the Superior Council led by Miguel Brás da Cunha (D).

The electoral act will take place on April 27, between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm, at the Estádio do Dragão, in Porto, at a time when Pinto da Costa is serving his 15th consecutive term, which gives him the status of the leader with the most titles and longevity in world football.

Read Also: André Villas-Boas' choices for the Executive Committee at FC Porto (Portuguese version)