00:00 Matias, welcome to the club. How does it feel to be a Manchester City player?
00:04 Thank you very much. I'm very happy, of course, to be here. It's a dream come true. I always
00:12 wanted to play for a big club in England and this year God blessed me with that. So I'm
00:19 very happy, very excited and I can't wait to get started.
00:23 What was it that convinced you that this was the right step in your career right now?
00:28 Of course there's a lot of factors. Being the champions, of course, it's amazing for
00:37 me to even think to come here. The coach as well. It's a huge club. It has the best you
00:46 can get, the best opportunities, the best structure. So I think there's a lot of factors
00:52 that influenced my decision to come here. I think it was an easy one. Actually, I think
00:58 when I first found out that they were interested in me, I didn't think twice. So I'm very happy
01:04 to be here.
01:05 Speaking of the coach, how important was it, the opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola?
01:11 I mean, massive. He's probably the best in the world for so many years now. I think I'm
01:19 going to learn so much from him. I think I can only see myself improving with him. Also
01:26 with all the teammates, the top quality players that we have on the squad. So I think this
01:32 is going to be a very good journey.
01:33 Pep describes you as one of the best players in the world. Can you remember that and how
01:37 it made you feel?
01:41 I mean, at that time, the game we had against City was not very good because we lost 5-0.
01:48 When I was playing sports, I didn't even see his interview. I only found out the next
01:54 day when we were at breakfast in the club. Of course, it felt very good to hear something
02:02 like that from a coach like he is. It feels good, but I try not to think about it because
02:10 I would get over the moon. Sometimes people get lost in that type of comment. So I try
02:18 not to think about it, but of course it's very good to hear about it.
02:22 You faced City a few times with sporting involves. How was that for you?
02:27 Tough. Every time was tough because City, most of the games, they have the ball the
02:33 whole game. So it was very tough and I'm a player that likes to have the ball. But I
02:40 mean, it was always a learning experience because I knew this was the type of environment
02:45 and club that I wanted to be. My goal was to be here. So it was always tough, but I
02:52 was good to face City.
02:54 What were your memories of playing at the Etihad?
02:57 I didn't. I did play once. The atmosphere was very good. I remember that in the beginning
03:07 we were actually playing good against City and the atmosphere was very like, 'Come on,
03:13 guys, we're pushing the team.' So the only memory that I have was very good, yes.
03:19 So these experiences that you've had with City, did that make you feel that this was
03:23 a place where you could thrive?
03:25 Of course. I mean, like I told you already, this is an amazing club, a very, very good
03:32 opportunity for me. I hope I fulfil all the expectations that everyone has on me and to
03:40 help the club achieve all the goals.
03:43 If your style really suits the Premier League, what do you think it is about that that so
03:47 suits England?
03:50 I mean, maybe because I'm very energetic as a player. I run a lot and the Premier League
03:59 is very intense as well. There's a lot of counter-attack and fast attacks. So I think
04:05 it suits in that way. City kind of play sometimes differently as well because I see they have
04:11 the ball, they manage the ball, they manage the game. So it's good also for me to get
04:17 used to that part again because in Wolverhampton we played more in counter-attack, of course.
04:24 So I think it's very good.
04:26 You've scored some spectacular goals as well. Is that something you pride yourself on?
04:31 I mean, I want to score as many goals as I can. I want to give assists, I want to help
04:36 the team, I want to give my best all the time. And when we score goals, of course, this is
04:42 the ultimate thing of football. So it's always good, but I just want to help the team as
04:51 I can.
04:54 And how exciting is it to be back playing in the Champions League as well with City?
04:57 Yeah, that's very good actually because last year I didn't with Wolves. It's always been
05:03 a dream of myself playing in the Champions League and with Sporting I could play and
05:10 it felt amazing every time I heard the song. And now it's even better playing in the Champions
05:17 League for a big club like City because you actually have aspirations to try to win it.
05:22 So I mean, it's amazing.
05:24 You were part of the Portugal squad at the World Cup. How was that experience for you?
05:30 I mean, it was a very good experience, of course, to experience something like this
05:35 because this is the kind of goals that I have in my individual career and that was the highest
05:48 point of my goals in my career, to be part of a World Cup. I didn't play so much, which
05:57 was not what I wanted, but still just to be there, to feel the environment, just to play
06:06 with the top players, the best of all the countries. So I mean, it's amazing.
06:11 What have you made of City's transfer business in the summer? Have Covid teachers come in?
06:16 Guardiola? Do you know a lot about those players?
06:18 Yeah, yeah. I mean, of course, Gundogan left and all the players that they brought have
06:30 just been very good players. I think it's a part of the club to just have amazing players
06:38 every season. And this year they managed to bring these players and I think the squad
06:43 is even stronger than last year. So I think, yeah, it's just very good players.
06:49 And just finally, what are your personal goals for this season and for your future at City?
06:57 I mean, I want to help the team to play the most I can, help the club achieve their goals,
07:06 win every title like they did last year, for example. And yeah, just trying to make history
07:13 in the club and put my name in the club.
07:15 Thank you for your time, Matthijs. And welcome to the club.
07:18 Thank you. Thank you very much.
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07:47 Thank you.
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