Ronaldo is absent from Jota s funeral? Neto: I m not qualified to talk about the captain, he must have his own reasons

Portuguese winger Pedro Neto was interviewed by the media and talked about many topics such as the national team, Diogo Jota, World Cup dreams and Benfica.

This is the first gathering of the national team after Diogo Jota's death. How is the team now? What do you expect from Felix’s future? Want to get a more important role at Chelsea?

Back here without him (Jota)... It was a difficult day. We felt that emptiness. But most importantly, we will use this power to pay tribute to him to conquer the goals we must conquer. We know that He will give us tremendous strength to achieve our goals.

About Felix, everyone knows his strength. I had the honor of working with him for six months and he was an incredible player. He got those opportunities he had for the head coach's choice. He was doing really well when he got the chance and I think everyone knew what he could do. I hope he can prove himself again now and play his own football. I think this is the most important thing. If he was allowed to play his own football, he would succeed again.

As for the future at Chelsea, we will do better and work harder than last year.

What are your personal and collective goals for this World Cup qualifier?

At the collective level, we focus on our next six games, in order to qualify and to prove that we are the best, as we did in the UEFA Nations League. I think it is in these games that we can prove that we are the best through our serious attitude and the strength we have. On a personal level, it is to do better than in the past, work harder than in the past, and then see what will happen because we never know what will happen in the future.

Is the 2024/25 season the best season in your career?

Yes, but I hope there will be better. So far, I think yes. It was a very successful season and a season where I learned a lot. We obviously have the dream of winning the World Cup, and it is a dream that can be realized. I've told Enzo that he was the first player to win both the Club World Cup and the World Cup. I told him that I would like to achieve this feat, too, and it was a dream for me. That's the goal, work hard to achieve this goal.

Ronaldo did not attend Diogo Jota's funeral. Has this been talked about in the locker room? Will this damage the captain's image?

I am not qualified to judge our captain. He must have his reasons, you have to ask him about this. I don't have any comments.

Where do you think you perform best? Are you happy to meet Benfica in the Champions League?

Frankly, I prefer to play right winger. That was where I started on the youth team, when I started playing more frontcourt because I started playing in the middle of the way. But I would say that my favorite kicking position is on the right.

We also met Benfica in the Club World Cup before, and I also met the coach Laje, who once coached me. It is always an honor to meet a team of the size of Benfica. These are the challenges the players want and I look forward to playing against them again.

The nightmare of injury has passed, how do you keep your state stable?

Through what I have experienced, I have learned a lot and learned better about my body. I have to study certain parts of the body that I didn’t know before, do certain tests, and most importantly, maintain the stability and routine of the work, which requires greater effort. I've gained this stability and hopefully keep it going.

How to compare Chelsea's past and you now? Haven't your best yet?

I think it is very different. Before I came to Chelsea, I had to adapt to another way of playing football. Because I am used to playing in a Premier League club that doesn't have much possession. At Chelsea, I think the biggest improvement of my ability to handle the ball in a small space.

Faced with a team that is more defensive and has more possession of the ball, I have to take my game to a level where I focus more on possession than conversion. My experience in the national team has also helped me a lot, because the national team also has a lot of possession and I often play in the opponent's half-court. Also, when there are crosses, they enter the penalty area more, fill in the penalty area and shooting area, which are the places where I improve.