Hugo Viana left his role as sports director of Sporting CP, the Portuguese club announced on Tuesday.
Viana, who will replace the outgoing Txiki Begiristain as Manchester City football director, was to leave CP Sporting at the end of the season.
“Sporting CP informs that Hugo Viana asked that his departure from the club be advanced, initially scheduled for the end of the current sports season”, ” A club press release said.
“Given the arguments presented and by mutual understanding, the sports director of the CP Sportif ceased after the closure of the winter market.”
Viana, 42, spent time in Sporting, Newcastle United and Valence as a player and won 29 caps for Portugal between 2001 and 2012.
He was appointed director of Sporting football in 2018 and helped the club win the Portuguese title in 2021 and 2024 despite strong competition from Benfica and FC Porto.
He is recognized for bringing the boss of Mow-Manchester United, Ruben Amorim, as a manager in 2020, who also played a key role in the return of sport at the top of Portuguese football.
“Hugo Viana played a fundamental role in the club’s sports growth during a period during which the CP’s main football team won several titles: two national championships, three championship cups, a super cup and A Portuguese cup, “said the press release.
The president of the Sports CP, Frederico Varandas, congratulated Viana and said: “Viana’s work during these years was fundamental for the implementation of a solid and winning sports project.
“He played a crucial role in the creation of a team that broke the barriers and marked one of the most memorable phases in the recent history of our club.”
Bernardo Palmeiro will replace Viana as a new director general of football at Sporting.
City, meanwhile, had a busy transfer window.
The Pep Guardiola team spent 180 million pounds sterling ($ 225 million) to try to arouse their season after a second half of the campaign.
City brought Eintracht Frankfurt Omar Marmoush In a transfer of 59 million pounds sterling, followed by Palmeiras’ Vitor Reis For 29.6 million pounds sterling and objective ‘ Abdukodir Khusanov For 33.6 million pounds sterling.
Before the deadline on Monday, City obtained the arrival of FC Porto Nico Gonzalez splashing 50 million pounds sterling, Equivalent to the player’s release clause.
