Matheus Nunes Says He Owes More to Portugal Than Brazil
Matheus Nunes said he owes more to Portugal than Brazil, revisiting the choice that took him from a Brazilian birthright to Portugal’s national team. The Portugal midfielder said the decision was hard because he is Brazilian too, and he described himself as half Portuguese and half Brazilian.
Matheus Nunes and Portugal
“Quero é estar na final, seja contra quem for. Todos sabem que seria diferente para mim ser o Brasil, mas quero é ganhar. Seria especial. Foi muito difícil tomar a decisão de escolher Portugal, porque também sou brasileiro,” he said before Portugal’s opener against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He sharpened that point by saying he feels equally tied to both countries. “Sinto que sou os dois por igual. Mas no que diz respeito ao futebol, devo muito mais a Portugal, porque foi aqui que me deram a oportunidade de ser quem eu sou. Sinto que sou metade português, metade brasileiro. Isso nunca vai mudar,” Nunes said.
Ericeira to Qatar
Nunes was born in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, but moved as a child to Ericeira, near Lisbon, with his mother, Portuguese stepfather and two sisters. His only early link to Brazilian football was an initial contact at a Flamengo school, and he never went through youth categories at clubs in Brazil. He developed entirely in Portugal.
That path explains why the national-team call in 2021 split in two directions. Tite summoned him for World Cup qualifying matches, but a few days later he was out of Brazil’s plans and later chose Portugal after conversations about joining the Portuguese project. In 2022, he was selected for the World Cup in Qatar, played in two matches, and reached the quarterfinals with Portugal.
Family in Brazil
The family divide runs through his answer as well. “Os meus familiares no Brasil não me iriam dizer, mas acho que iam torcer pelo Brasil. Mas a minha mãe ia estar por Portugal. Quando eu estava para escolher entre uma seleção e outra, ela tinha a opinião muito vincada sobre a seleção que eu devia escolher,” Nunes said.
That leaves his World Cup run with a built-in split: relatives in Brazil would probably lean toward Brazil, while his mother would back Portugal. He was due to face the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, June 17, at 14:00, with his comments on June 16 renewing attention on the decision he made years earlier and the final he says would feel different if Brazil were on the other side.
