Porto head coach Vitor Bruno has revealed that he was unhappy with on-loan Arsenal midfielder Fabio Vieira following his side’s victory over Boavista on Saturday night.
Vieira, a €40m (£34.2m) signing in 2022, returned to Porto on loan in the summer having struggled to make an impact in his first two seasons at Arsenal.
The 24-year-old has started in Porto’s last five matches but was left out of the squad entirely for their 4-0 win at home to Boavista.
And Bruno admitted after the match that he had an issue with Vieira that was unrelated to his recent performance levels.
‘I have to make decisions, pay close attention to the players’ performance and how they view their day-to-day activities,’ Bruno said after Porto’s victory.
‘Fabio is very talented but talent has to be based on a series of pre-conditions. And when one or two of them end up falling apart, it makes everything more difficult.
‘He has immense potential and I have a large squad that offers me guarantees, I cannot give up on certain principles that are mine.
‘I don’t need to pass on any message. Fabio knows me well and we are counting on him. He will be available to play again next week. So it is a question of making decisions.’
Vieira’s exclusion from the squad had sparked speculation that Arsenal had planned to cut short his loan spell, however, Bruno insists the midfielder will be staying with the Portuguese league leaders.
Asked if Vieira will stay at Porto for the remainder of the season, Bruno replied: ‘Of course.
‘I’ll repeat what I said in the flash interview… for us, talent has to be based on foundations that cannot abandon the condition of an athlete and, when that is lacking, I have to make decisions.
‘Fabio has a lot of talent and will be available next week. I have a large squad that offers guarantees and, even if I didn’t, there are assumptions that I cannot give up. He knows that and we are here for him.’
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