FC Porto, undoubtedly one of the ‘Big Three’ clubs in Portugal have had a rough season, to say the least.
11 points from league leaders Sporting Lisbon by the end of the season and level on points with fourth place Braga managed by former Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal just two weeks before the end of their Liga Portugal, the season has certainly failed to reach expectations.
But why is this the case?
Recruitment of Managers
One such reason would be the change of management, with Sérgio Conceição’s departure to Italian giants AC Milan at the start of their managerial merry-go-round.
Conceição had been manager of The Dragões since 2017 when he returned to Portugal after a year managing in France with Ligue 1 side FC Nantes.
Prior to his appointment, Conceição had managed five separate clubs in five consecutive seasons, lasting no longer than a season in any position.
But the risk paid off exponentially, with the former Inter Milan winger winning three league titles, four Taça de Portugal’s, a Taça da Liga and three Portuguese Super Cups.
His spell also saw consistent qualification into the UEFA Champions League, and more often than not, made it into the knockout stages as he did in his last season with the club when his side were knocked out by Arsenal in the round-of-16 on penalties at the Emirates.
But since his departure, the side has found no consistency.
Vítor Bruno was appointed the new FC Porto manager on a two-year deal, with Bruno having worked at the club as Conceição’s assistant until there was a reported altercation between the two after he was not included in Conceição’s agreement with Porto President Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa for renewal, something Bruno refuted.
However, after just 29 games in all competitions into the job, including a dismal run in the Europa League, Bruno was sacked, with the club adrift from league leaders Sporting who were running away with the league.
It was also at this stage that Benfica sacked their manager to appoint former Wolves manager Bruno Lage, who had won titles as Benfica’s manager prior to his spell in the Premier League.
José Tavares became caretaker manager for two matches in which they were winless.
Martín Anselmi then took the helm, despite the former Cruz Azul only having a 45% win rate from his first 11 matches in all competitions.
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Financial Issues Surrounding FC Porto
Another issue with the club is their financial troubles, with closing the 2023/24 season with losses of €21 million and liabilities amounting to €520 million.
Since new club President André Villas-Boas has taken over from Costa, the former Marseille and Chelsea manager has made it a priority to restructure the club financially.
This has also meant that the club has revised its contract with Spanish investment firm Ithaka, selling a stake in the economic rights to its stadium for €100 million.
This has meant that the club has had less investment within the squad. This has led to a disappointing campaign this season, with managerial pay-offs not helping the financial department of the club.
However, as FC Porto was one of 13 clubs sanctioned by the UEFA panel for so-called “overdue payables” and fined $1.6 million by UEFA and threatened with a one-season ban from European competitions due to their financial situation, the priority on the finances of the club seem to be pivotal for their future success.
It can be argued that Liga Portugal has become much stronger in the past few seasons, with Sporting Club once again competing for titles especially under current under-pressure Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, alongside ever-present Benfica.
But this would be a weak argument. Both Benfica and Sporting CP have slipped up this season.
Benfica replaced Roger Schmidt with former Wolves manager Bruno Lage who returned to the club where he won the league and Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in 2019.
Meanwhile, Sporting slipped up the months before Amorim’s appointment to Manchester United.
Overall this presented the chance for a side with consistency to pull away with the Liga Portugal title, albeit Porto, who at one stage halfway through the campaign were in contention have been well off the pace.
That being said, FC Porto ended the season with five wins out of their last six matches with Anselmi’s side scoring an average of 2.66 goals in their last three matches.
Moreover, with extremely promising youngsters such as Rodrigo Mora and Martim Fernandes coming through the ranks, the future seems to be much more promising than the majority of the season that’s just gone by.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
Recording Date: 11.05.2025