"We have an agreement with a city not far from Porto, which I don't want to talk about now, because I think it's not worth it. If there are already estimated costs? We have not done any market research on this situation. One of our wishes is to build the academy, but only after we feel how FC Porto's heart and accounts are doing will we be able to draw the appropriate conclusions. I need to know what I can count on or the money that exists to make these investments. These are ideas that we have in mind, but that are feasible," said the businessman and professor, in an interview with the Lusa agency.

This intention of Nuno Lobo is similar to the academy projected in Maia by Pinto da Costa, president of FC Porto and a candidate for a 16th consecutive term, but contrasts with the plans of the former coach and electoral opponent André Villas-Boas, who advocates a high-performance centre near the PortoGaia Sports Training and Education Centre, in Olival.

"This academy has been promised for many years and other clubs have had it for over two decades. I contested that project in Matosinhos, because it was an aberration, a colossal mistake and something done in a hurry, so much so that it did not go ahead or went beyond mere papers. Today we see something more with a head and a tail. Academy in Maia? It's a project I endorse. If I win the elections, I will certainly not tear up that contract. I will see in detail what it brings of benefit to FC Porto and then I will take a position," he stressed.

The 54-year-old businessman wants to concentrate all the youth teams in an academy independent of Olival - whose land he intends to acquire definitively from the Vila Nova de Gaia Municipal Council - aiming to project added value in the main team.

"FC Porto has always been and will continue to be a selling club. Therefore, it has to attack the transfer market with criteria and in a surgical way, bringing in quality players at a fair and affordable price so that, later, they can be enhanced and valued in a future transfer, without the club losing this dynamic and sporting success. This is how FC Porto has to do it, but we don't see that. The 'scouting' has been a bit stagnant and this is a very important piece of the puzzle," he noted.

By giving the leadership of the football structure to the president, who can delegate powers in specific areas, Nuno Lobo considers betting on a sports director, without thinking about Sérgio Conceição leaving the command of the main team at the end of the season.

"If I gave him a blank sheet of paper and he signed it, that's fine with me. Now, I want this separation of powers. I don't have to give tips or suggest players, but delegate this work to Sérgio Conceição and his technical team. I will never interfere in the way he trains the team. If he asks me for a Mbappé or a Cristiano Ronaldo, FC Porto has to know how far it can go and avoid some of the follies it has committed," he said.

The candidate to succeed Pinto da Costa on the list "Yes, we are Porto - projecting the future respecting the past" admits to seeing himself in the "meritorious work" of the coach, who became the record holder for games, victories and trophies at the head of the club after almost seven seasons.

"I have to see his part as a coach and not forget the way he defends the club every day. This is important for the member and shows our DNA. Unfortunately, not only in football, but also in politics, FC Porto and Porto are always being subjugated by Lisbon's exacerbated centralism. Sérgio Conceição has been that flag," he assessed.