Vitinha, the 25-year-old midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal, spoke at length with the media outlet Ici Paris in an interview published this Wednesday morning. Here is the full transcript, including his current form, the daily work involved in avoiding injuries, the impact of Luis Enrique, his positional change, and his third-place finish in the Ballon d’Or.
Vitinha: “We’re giving 100% to make this last as long as possible.”
How are you doing? You seem to be in top form, both personally and as part of the team?
Very well! It’s true that everything is going well at the moment, for the team and for me. That’s what we always want. We know it’s not possible to always be like this, both collectively and individually. But we’re giving 100% to make it last as long as possible.
Do you feel that you’ve become particularly important at PSG?
Yes, I feel the importance I have in this team. It’s a good thing. It’s a responsibility. I’m comfortable, and I think everyone can see how I feel. If it helps the team, that’s the most important thing.
Vitinha: “The staff’s management is the key to our well-being.”
How do you manage to be in such good physical shape despite the string of matches?
It’s true that it’s something you have to think about. There have been quite a few matches, little rest time. You have to manage it well, and I think the staff does it very, very well. Even with the injuries we’ve had. I think it’s normal, let’s say, given the number of matches. But the staff’s management is the key to our well-being.
How do you manage individually? Do you have a routine?
I try to do things that professionals have access to. There’s recovery with cold therapy, cryotherapy. It costs nothing and helps me feel good during matches. That’s in our best interest. It’s important to get proper rest at home and sleep well. Nutrition is important; I have a personal physiotherapist, so it’s important to invest in that area. If I feel good, it’s good for the team.
Vitinha: “It’s foolish not to invest yourself.”
Is your diet also precisely regulated?
I think it’s a mistake not to invest yourself in your performance, in your profession. If you earn well, if you have money—we know footballers earn a lot—then it’s foolish not to invest yourself. I have a chef at home, in coordination with the club’s nutritionist. It’s the little things that make the difference in the end. It’s the combination of everything. You’re never sure you won’t get injured or fatigued, and when you do this, you’re in a good place mentally. You’re more available.
Vitinha: “My first year here also helped me enormously in many ways.”
What changed when you arrived at PSG? In the way you play, in the way you train?
I already had a good training ground in Porto. Ever since we were little, everyone tries to instill this way of working in us. You maintain it professionally; it’s the bare minimum. I learned that well. When I came here, or to Wolverhampton, I did it well. Even when things aren’t going well in football, it’s the minimum you have to do, and I do it all the time.
After that, it was different here. Porto is a big, big club. PSG too. There were also more opportunities at PSG to win internationally, to gain more recognition. I knew that. The year I arrived, there were some truly great players.
Even during my year at Wolverhampton, everything I experienced helped me be ready, to perform well. My first year here also helped me enormously in many ways to be even stronger and more well-rounded for the years to come.
Vitinha: “It’s a shame we couldn’t play together more.”
A word about Verratti?
He’s a great midfielder. It was a pleasure, a privilege to share the pitch with him. I consider myself young, but at the time, I was even younger, I had just arrived, and to play in midfield with him was truly a privilege. He’s a 100% complete midfielder; he had everything. He had defense, he had attack, he had vision, he had technique—he was a complete midfielder.
I really enjoyed playing with him; I felt we complemented each other. It’s a shame we couldn’t play together more, but I was very happy to share the pitch with him. He’s a magician, a great midfielder.
Vitinha: “He took me to another level.”
What did Luis Enrique bring to your game?
I think this was a bit of a turning point in my life here at PSG. He took me to another level, a level I maybe didn’t think I’d reach at the time. I lacked confidence, I wasn’t doing well then. I was trying my best, but I wasn’t feeling good. He helped me a lot. I started the year well with him. He didn’t know me very well before. I think I showed what I was capable of. He really liked me.
Then, as time went on, I gained confidence, I became more important to the team. I started playing, I was repositioned on the pitch, and it took on a whole new dimension. I reached a new level. I feel really comfortable, I feel at my best when I play under Luis Enrique. I’m very grateful to him.
I’ve said it before, but it’s never too much to say thank you. He really helped me reach another level.
Vitinha: “I really like to be on the ball, to control the game, to dictate what we’re going to do, when we’re going to do it, and how.”
How did the repositioning go? Did he use video? What points did he emphasize?
I think I have the same idea as him. I play as a number 6 now, but I can also be an 8. I think he’s exaggerating, but he said I play everywhere (laughs). But yes, maybe I can perform in any position in midfield.
By putting me in the number 6 role, he understood that I could do different things: play the ball out from the back, confidence on the ball, security. I knew I felt good in that position; it wasn’t the first time.
You can never have everything. Maybe I don’t score as much as before, maybe I’m not closer to the goal. But I really enjoy being on the ball, controlling the game, dictating what we’re going to do, when we’re going to do it, and how. I really like playing in this position for that reason, to be very involved in the game.
Vitinha: “When he saw what I could offer, even if it wasn’t conventional, he saw that it could be interesting.”
Are you the playmaker?
You can call it that, I feel very comfortable in this position. I’m a little further from the goal. But I think it brings a lot of positive things to the team. The coach could sense when he arrived that I wasn’t really a defensive midfielder, I don’t have the typical style, with one or two touches. I’m used to taking several touches, drawing the player in well before passing. Maybe that was the reason. But when he saw what I could offer, even if it wasn’t conventional, he saw that it could be interesting.
Vitinha: “It brings responsibilities.”
Did the Ballon d’Or change things around you?
You always dream of being well-placed in the Ballon d’Or rankings. Winning the Ballon d’Or is the ultimate dream. But before that happens… If you tell me, when I was 12, that when I’m 25, I’ll finish third in the Ballon d’Or, well, that seems incredible to me. When you look at the whole journey, when you experience things as they happen, it comes almost naturally.
Is it almost logical?
Not exactly, but there’s less excitement than before. It wasn’t sudden. But it’s true that when I realize what I’ve done, individually, my friends, my family, third in the Ballon d’Or, it’s amazing. It’s a dream. It brings responsibilities. Now, I have to maintain this level, as much as possible, to keep this momentum going. But I know it’s difficult.
There aren’t many players who have consistently performed well year after year, because today there’s a lot of competition, enormous competition. So I have to do everything I can to stay here. I’m in the perfect place to do that. A big club like PSG, the European Champions. I have to try to do the same and, if possible, better.
