Rony Lopes comments on La Liga return in exclusive Eleven Sports interview
Rony Lopes, Sevilla player and Portuguese international, was chatting, live on ELEVEN SPORTS Facebook. The 24-year-old winger addressed several aspects of a career that led him to play for Benfica and clubs like Manchester City, Lille, Monaco and now Seville.
With the return of the LaLiga scheduled for 11 June, the team of Rony Lopes will be the first to enter the field, and with a great derby: “Finally football will return, and soon with a Sevilla-Betis. We all missed him so much and it immediately gives us another joy to train, ”said the Portuguese, who tried to keep his shape in the Andalusian city during the stoppage of competitions with the help of his cousin and sister.
With Sevilla in 3rd place in LaLiga and still in the Europa League, where he will face Paulo Fonseca’s Roma in the round of 16, Ron has no doubt about what the goals of the Lopetegui team will be for the end of the season: “ The goal in the championship is qualifying for the Champions League, and I think we are doing well to guarantee that place. In the Europa League, we want to reach the final and win, because it is the competition in which Sevilla is a specialist ”, assured the Portuguese, who showed himself“ in favor of the possibility of making five substitutions, given that we were two months at home and there will be the need to play many games in a short time ”.
Rony Lopes arrived at the beginning of the 2019-20 season in Seville, with the Spanish club paying Monaco 25 million euros for the Portuguese pass, which became the most expensive player in the club’s history. Ron has not been a regular option for Lopetegui in LaLiga – just three games played – but the winger is unrepentant about his choice: “Coming to a club like Seville and being the most expensive signing in history is a pride. I never felt pressure for that, but it is true that, being the most expensive player in the club, I thought I would have more opportunities to play. But Sevilla is an excellent club for me and this is a great league, with a lot of intensity and quality of play ”, stressed the Portuguese.
With two caps for Portugal, Rony does not hide that “playing for the national team is incredible, a dream come true that rewards all the work he was doing”. With Euro’2020 being postponed until the summer of 2021, the winger reveals his ambition to be in his first big final tournament with the main national team. “I believe that, playing, I can be in the next Euro, where Portugal will defend the title. I just hope to have continuity and opportunities to play regularly ”, he assured, saying that“ my biggest dream is to win a title for the Portuguese team and reach the highest level in football. I work every day for that ”.
Rony, who says he has “as current idols Messi and Ronaldo”, points out “Dani Alves and Marquinhos” as the most difficult opponents to face and “Patrick Vieira, in the Manchester City under-21s, as the most outstanding coach”, spoke about his period in the formation of Benfica, in which he played until 2011: “I learned a lot at Benfica. I played with great players, such as João Cancelo, Bernardo Silva or Ivan Cavaleiro, and I was coached by great coaches ”, referring that“ Bernardo Silva, at times, was not bet in the formation for being slight. But I always believed in him, in training I could see the quality he had, and he deserves all the success he is having ”.
Even before turning 16, Ron left Benfica for Manchester City, and told what it was like to play in a millionaire club and be, at 17 years and 8 days, the youngest player ever to score for the English club: “In the beginning the adaptation it was not easy, but when in the second year I was called to do the pre-season, only 16 years old, I couldn’t believe it. Then, in January, I was called to a Cup game, in which I must have hit the ball three times and on the third, I scored a goal. And come to celebrate with me Tévez, Balotelli, Kompany, Yaya, Milner… It was fantastic, they are memories that I will not forget until today ”.
Finally, Rony, who assumed that “depending on the moment and the proposals, there may be the possibility of returning to play in Portugal”, took the opportunity to leave a message to the Portuguese: “I want to thank all the health professionals for their work. It is to be commended what they are doing as they put their lives at risk to save the lives of others. We must all be positive and respect the rules ”, he concluded.
Watch the full interview here.
