Sérgio Conceição recalled his short stint as Milan coach last season and admitted that he would have stayed at the "Rossoneri" if there had been "some changes". «There was instability in terms of the club's structure, and the atmosphere around the team was not good. That's why I cherish what we did. Furthermore, the management did not support me. I'll give you an example: after winning the Super Cup we played against Cagliari. At that time, rumors were already circulating that the club was following other coaches. I thought about working and earning, with the weight of results. I didn't have time to work at all levels", said the Portuguese coach, in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. Conceição also guaranteed that the players were always by his side. «Players betrayed me? On the contrary, they were never with me. Theo also said this in the interview you did with him: after Feyenoord, when people said he had been sent off on purpose, I defended him. Many wrote to me when I left. I demand rigor, demand, and then relaxation when it's time to relax. If someone shows up with an extra kilo, arrives late or anything like that, I can't tolerate it. For me, at the end of the day, players are all the same.” «Chico was a little chubby and I told him: "If you're hungry... drink water"» Now at Al Ittihad, Conceição showed that she still follows Italian football, even following her son Francisco at Juventus, but at home we don't talk about football. “As little as possible. The important thing is that, when dining, you leave your cell phones in your pocket. I also demanded this at Porto and Milan. Chico made his debut with me in Portugal. In 2020, during confinement, I told him: 'If you're hungry... then drink water'. He was a little chubby. To make a difference, sacrifices and mentality are necessary. If I could, I would lend him my hunger. Not that he doesn't have it — he does, and a lot of it — but when I was 16, I took money home so I could eat; it was different. But I always believed. And he believes it too”, he stressed. Conceição also revealed that he had “contacts with Lazio” when he was still at FC Porto and discussed the adventure in Saudi Arabia. «Even before signing for Al Ittihad, I had other offers. Here the championship is competitive, ambitions are high, we train in the afternoon and not in the morning. You need to adapt to cultural dynamics. But this is a challenge and I love challenges like that», he concluded.