Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 12:08
At 31 years old and after a season that was not very fruitful for him at Getafe, Cristian Portugués, Portu, understood that what his career needed was to return to where he had been happiest. Thus, almost as soon as the last market closed, he signed until 2027 for Girona, a team in which he exploded as an elite footballer between 2016 and 2019 (29 goals and a historic promotion to First Division in 2017). In 2019, Real Sociedad paid 10 million euros for Beniel's winger and, after two notable first seasons as 'txuri-urdin', his performance dropped significantly in the third. Getafe, however, paid 3.5 million for Portu to Real.
The Beniel native, after a difficult season in the Madrid team, wanted to return to Girona, with the purpose of feeling important in a project and reconnecting with a fan who loves him dearly. What he could never imagine is that at this point in the month of December his team was going to lead the First Division table, ahead of Real Madrid, Barça and Atlético. And that helps – and a lot – that Portu is willingly accepting the role of his substitute, as unexpected for him as the fact that Girona is first in the standings after 17 days.
Because the winger from Beniel started for the first time so far in the league in last Monday's game against Alavés. And he took advantage of his opportunity to score a goal and be one of the most outstanding in Girona's victory (3-0). Until this Monday he had participated in 12 games, but always coming off the bench.
«No one relaxes on this team, despite being leaders. After winning in Montjuic, everyone assumed that we would also beat Alavés. The extra pressure can be detrimental, but the team is handling it very well,” confesses Portu, who accepts his role and praises his coach. «Míchel is a spectacle of a coach. “He analyzes the games perfectly and gives us many guidelines to hurt our rivals,” says the Beniel player.
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