A side business that was born between conversations by Chico

Three weeks ago, Alberto Costa's future seemed to have only two possible outcomes: either stay at Juventus or return to Portugal via Sporting. What was holding these scenarios back? On the one hand, the possibility of Igor Tudor wanting to keep the full-back signed from V. Guimarães, continuing his commitment to the end of Serie A and the Club World Cup. On the other, the possibility of the Lions reinforcing their commitment to a long-hyped player who could now be worth three million more than they were unwilling to pay in January due to a different context in the approach to the signing. During this hiatus, negotiations for Francisco Conceição also intensified, with the Vecchia Signora attempting to lower the price. Then, everything changed.

The Portuguese international was ultimately signed for €32 million, forgoing the 20% he would have been entitled to from the transaction as stipulated in the last contract signed with FC Porto (which will result in a higher diluted signing bonus as "compensation"), but the clubs were working on the possibility of another separate deal that would divert Alberto Costa from Alvalade without forcing the Dragons to make a significant investment. João Mário entered the equation.

Fabrizio Romano suggested the possibility of a kind of "swap," albeit not a direct one, in parallel deals on Monday night, with Alberto Costa joining FC Porto for €15 million and João Mário heading to Juventus for €12 million. In other words, the blue and whites would only have to pay the Italians three million euros, plus an additional one million for sporting purposes. In less than 48 hours, the still-theoretical idea became a reality.

Alberto Costa may take a salary cut to return to Portugal, João Mário will increase his salary compared to his current conditions at FC Porto, and everything points to the deal being announced soon. Another situation will be resolved in the squad under Francesco Farioli, who will have the player introduced by Rui Borge at V. Guimarães and Martim Fernandes as options for the right side of defense. João Mário will leave his longtime club after starting out at Sanjoanense, having his first adventure abroad at the age of 25 with Juventus, who had already followed him in previous seasons.

Alberto Costa will be the sixth new face confirmed at Dragão in 2025/26 after the signings of Gabri Veiga, João Costa, Dominik Prpic, Borja Sainz, and Victor Froholdt, for a total of €67.8 million that has already been invested and that rises to €93.1 million when adding the purchase options for Nehuén Pérez (90%) and Samu (the remaining 50% of the transfer fee belonged to Atlético Madrid). In contrast, and after the sales of Galeno and Nico González in January for €110 million – which did not go entirely to the club's coffers due to the capital gains Barcelona had on the midfielder – the club's SAD has already earned €42 million for Francisco Conceição and Gonçalo Borges, plus another €12 million for João Mário.