I started at Benfica: not as big but one of the biggest clubs in Portugal. I've played for Real Madrid. Then I moved to Manchester United, from a giant to another giant.
I'm English. I've never said the opposite. I'm 100 per cent English. In Portugal it happens that a lot of Brazilians play for Portugal and they're not Portuguese.
Benfica is a club of the people, with ambition domestically and in Europe and that was important to me, I really want to achieve things and Benfica has the same ambitions that I have.
I tried to go to university, and I stayed there for one year, but I didn't do much there because I already had a contract with Benfica.
I was a Benfica fan; I had played there for 12 years.
Portugal have a mix of players and talent, which is what Portuguese players and coaches are often about. It's like play-ground football.
I knew Portuguese football and I knew that Rio Ave was a medium-sized club but I also knew they are organised off the pitch. We felt that we could achieve something special playing in a different way.
In Portugal, there are just four or five teams who have 30,000 fans in their stadium, but teams in the middle of the table don't have many fans.
Mourinho is a legend at Porto.
I was seven and a half, nearly eight when I arrived. I was always a Porto fan, so they were 12 extremely big years for me.
I am like all Portuguese people in that I admire Mourinho a lot.
