Former Liverpool player Rafael Camacho is on the front page of Portuguese newspaper O Jogo today, as he’s given them an exclusive interview.
The winger has just signed a five-year deal with Sporting, and later this week will be meeting the Reds in a friendly played in New York City.
Camacho had a lot to tell about his aspirations for the Lisbon club, but also gave some details about his departure from Liverpool, claiming the negotiations for the move had been happening for months.
“There was interest from both. Me to come to Sporting and from the club to sign me. Since December there was this interest in coming, back then on loan, but unfortunately it didn’t go well. But now it did, and the president played a very important role in my arrival,” Rafael Camacho told O Jogo.
Asked if Jurgen Klopp had given him any advice about making the return to Sporting, Rafael Camacho said he was encouraged by the Liverpool boss.
“I spoke to him in December, told him I had a chance to come back, he said he knew but at that moment he didn’t want to let me go, because I was part of Liverpool’s plans. Before the summer I spoke to him again, told him that I wanted to go back to grow as a professional and he told me it was a great idea, that this would be the best club I could go to and that if I worked I would have my chance.”
Recalling his past a little bit, Camacho explained what made him leave Manchester City to join the Reds back in 2016.
“I was at the Manchester City Academy, but the first team manager, Manuel Pellegrini, didn’t bet on the youngsters. I decided with my father that it would be better to go to a club that really bet on the academy. That is what happened.”
On his debut against Wolves this season, he was quizzed if Klopp told him he would be starting that match.
“He had already told me earlier in that week that I was going to start that game. And told me that he thought I was ready, that I deserved it. I was told, above all, to take it easy, to play normally.”
Then O Jogo made a comment saying Klopp is his father in football: “Exactly. It was Jurgen who launched me into the world of professional football. I’m very grateful to him for that. He’ll be a coach who will mark me forever because he was the one who launched me.”
