The Barca Sporting Director recently accepts the interview covering topics, including World Cup and Raphinha.
Deco believes Portugal and Spain are among the top favorites for the World Cup.
On Portugal’s World Cup prospects:
“With Portugal’s current squad, it’s impossible for them not to be a title contender. Besides Portugal, I also see Spain as a favorite. And Brazil—despite their recent poor results and drop in the FIFA rankings—still has many world-class players. If they suddenly rebounce… well, you can never count them out. And of course, we can’t forget France and Argentina either.”
On whether Neymar will make Brazil’s squad:
“Neymar’s quality is undeniable. With him, Brazil has a much better chance. I hope he recovers fully and can play a role, because he’s a truly unique player. A front line of Neymar, Vinícius, and Raphinha would be extremely strong.”
On whether Barcelona considered re-signing Neymar last year:
“In truth, no—we didn’t seriously consider it. Given Financial Fair Play constraints, our room for maneuver was very limited.”
On Raphinha:
“I think several of Raphinha’s former clubs were too impatient with him. His first European stop was Vitória Guimarães—a solid mid-to-upper-tier Primeira Liga side, ideal for his development—but they sold him very quickly. Then at Sporting CP, he was again moved on almost immediately. In my view, he should have stayed at Sporting for another couple of years before making a direct jump to a top club. Instead, Sporting chose to sell both him and Wendel, while keeping Bruno Fernandes.”