Return to Benfica: "We can never idealise, because this is the moment and I didn't think I'd come to Arabia now either, but this opportunity came up, I'm here today and I don't regret it. Three or four years ago, I probably wouldn't have come. I idealise playing for Benfica, but I also know that it's a very demanding club and I don't want to go knowing that I'm not physically fit, I want to go knowing that I can help the club. I don't want to end my career there. If I go to Benfica, I want to win trophies, it's the club of my heart and my late mum's and I feel I owe her that too. Playing for Benfica now... there may be opportunities, we'll see in the future and when my contract is up."
Reunion with Jorge Jesus at Al Hilal: "He has a very strong personality, he has a huge heart and now I know him more intimately. He's a golden man and I'm very grateful that he brought me here, he's a great coach and now I see what a great coach he is. He sees football the way I do, attacking, attractive. Our team has the ball most of the time, scores a lot of goals and defensively we're not as good as we'd like to be, but the way he works and his dedication makes me take him as an example."
Bad loss: "Since I was a kid, both in football and in life. Of course, maturity and the way I've grown up makes me see things differently now. I hate losing, but I used to be obsessed with winning. I always want to win, but I know there are other people who do. I've lost a lot in football and in life and I think that's part of life, it's something I have to internalise and I do that when I get home and see my daughters and my wife happy."
Centre-back with a more interior role: "It's all down to Pep Guardiola, who for me is a genius, he's impeccable and he's changed the way I see the game. We had differences, it wasn't a shock. I have a very strong personality, so does he and he's the boss. We went our separate ways and he's a genius, I have no problem saying that. In terms of training he's world class, he made me see football in a different way and the best moments of my career were at City, I achieved what perhaps few centre-backs have achieved, not in titles but in personal satisfaction. I went to games and training enjoying myself because I had a fantastic team and I felt important in that group. I thank him from the bottom of my heart, he made me live the best moments of my sporting life. Mind you, it's one thing to have different opinions and an argument, but that doesn't detract from what he did for me, he made me grow as a man and a player and now I see football differently because of him."
Bruno Lage on Benfica: "He was my coach in training and he's very dedicated, passionate about the game and training and very demanding. Sometimes I see interviews with him and when he speaks he really means it, he's a Benfica fan, he feels for the club and he's there doing his best. I spoke to him a fortnight ago on a video call, it was just a chat about how his family and children were. It's funny because my first coach at Benfica was Luís Nascimento, who is his brother, and in the second year it was mister Lage, so I have that connection with him. It was him who got me playing left-back, when I arrived at Benfica I was a bit of a street player and it was him who taught me how to play, I'm very grateful to him for that. (Are you the right man?) I think so, Benfica is very demanding, but it's also because of the greatness of the club. For me, it's the biggest club in Portugal and here I also have that demand. Some people don't realise it, but Al Hilal is the biggest club here and maybe in Asia and I like that demand."
Portugal: "That's what I want most, to win something for my country. I'm very family orientated and representing Portugal for me means representing my ancestors, my family and my friends. A world title for Portugal would be the icing on the cake and, if I won it, I'd leave the national team. It's a title my father would love to see, and I think that's what I and all my colleagues in the national team are missing. Playing and winning titles for the national team is the pinnacle of a footballer's career."