Most Reading fans probably remember the club’s chase to sign manager Luís Castro from Vitória de Guimarães at the end of the last year.
The pursuit had been much covered by the Portuguese press at the time. It ended up with the boss saying no, and staying at his club instead.
Now Castro has been presented as the new manager of Shakhtar Donetsk, replacing his compatriot Paulo Fonseca in the job.
But since it’s not common for Portuguese players and managers to turn down offers to move to England, the local press hasn’t forgotten about the Reading offer.
That’s why when interviewing Castro about his new job this Saturday, newspaper O Jogo had to ask about his answer to the Championship job as well.
“It wasn’t the best time to leave,” Luís Castro told O Jogo. “And I didn’t want to interrupt the bond with Vitória, although a lot of people didn’t understand that. I didn’t regret at all having stayed, because I acted in consciousness, and Vitória eventually reached the Europa League and fifth place goal.”The chase for Castro happened after Paul Clement’s departure from the club in December 2018. Reading stayed with Scott Marshall in charge for a couple of weeks, and after failing to sign Castro, they went for his compatriot José Gomes, who was at Rio Ave at the time.
Gomes has a contract for one more season with the Royals.
