Joao Mario moved to West Ham in the January 2018 transfer window, having struggled at Inter Milan.
Moving to the Serie A club from Sporting for €40m, he failed to impress and there was a great deal of pressure put on the player. Some fans turned against him, with a lot of negativity coming from social media.
West Ham was a fresh start and there were some signs that it could turn into a longer term thing, with Joao Mario impressing on several occasions.
Ultimately it wasn’t enough for the Hammers to use their €40m clause, so he returned to Inter the following summer.
Another season with the Milan club failed to change the player’s luck, and he’s now at Lokomotiv Moscow on a year long loan.
Speaking to A Bola over the weekend, he made it clear he enjoyed his time in London, especially being able to travel to work on the Tube: “In Italy or Portugal it was impossible, but when I was in London, due to the traffic in the city, I took the subway to go to West Ham training. To be there or not to be there was the same.
“Nobody recognised me. It was spectacular. In big cities like Moscow or London, with minds where football is not so hot, we can make a relatively normal life.”
Part of the interview also covered the Inter troubles, and how things got so bad that he went out on loan to West Ham and then Lokomotiv Moscow: “I had a great contract. But I was in an extremely negative situation in Italy, I was training separately, alone with Icardi, that is, I was away, without preparation.
“I don’t understand Inter’s position in not letting me train, participating in preparation games, but it’s like everything… it made me confused as a club pays €40m for a player and treats him like a kid from the B team or juniors.”
The Russian club have an option to sign Joao Mario permanently in the summer.
