Ruben Neves: Portuguese players not valued as highly as they should be

Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves has made the claim that Portuguese footballer are undervalued within his home country.

In a recent interview referring to the chances given to Portuguese players, Neves, 21, said: “in my opinion, Portuguese footballers aren’t valued to the level that they should be.”

“There’s always someone who comes from a different country who is considered better and most of the time this is not actually the case. It’s a case of opportunities and Portuguese players get very few.”

He also mentioned the speed at which pundits, fans and coaches makes judgements on footballers, and how footballers often aren’t given the time required to show their capabilities.

“Nobody can ask a young person to play two games and be the best player of the squad. They have to have continuity because nobody can prove themselves in just two games.”

“For me, continuity is one of the biggest problems in Portugal. We have many Portuguese players playing in this country that have the required quality, as has been proven. Many of the Portuguese players outside of Portugal go on to play at the highest level.”

Ruben Neves, in his second season at Wolverhampton Wanderers, was speaking in an interview with Sport TV.