Porto’s president Bento da Costa signed another editorial in Dragões magazine, where he began writing that “there are things that never change”, and “speaking” of “attacks” aimed at “dispersing” the blue and white fans.

“They don’t divide us. There are things that never change. The 2023/24 season has barely started, but our usual enemies, those who write in some newspapers and comment on Lisbon TV, have already launched the usual attacks to try to destabilize us. They know they can’t interfere in the decisions of our structure. And in the performance of our team, so they try to adapt the environment around them. The goal is always the same: to separate the supporters of FC Porto. The methods used are no different either: they resort to lies and manipulation.

“In recent weeks, they have been lying and manipulating reality on subjects as diverse as our team’s sporting performance – which in their eyes is always much worse than what is seen on the field – and our interference in the transfer market – claiming whenever we say it: ‘You don’t have the ability to buy and sell well’ – or Violence in sport – it’s always Porto’s fault, even if murders and rapes are committed by members of other clubs.”