Man Utd vs Porto: Diogo Costa – penalty expert who idolises Iker Casillas and Vitor Baia
Diogo Costa has written himself into football folklore through his art of saving penalties.
The Portugal international, 25, became the first goalkeeper to save three consecutive penalties at a European Championship in the summer.
He had already claimed the penalty-saving Champions League group-stage record with Porto, and 36.36% of penalties taken against him for club and country have been missed.
That is why the goalkeeper is a dangerman of sorts for a struggling Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday.
“We know United are not coming from good games but we also know what Manchester United is,” Costa tells BBC Sport.
“For me, they are the biggest team in England, a special club and one I have admired since I was a kid. It is like a Champions League game; we know it will be a great game. We need to be at our best to win the game.”
Costa’s talents are widely admired and, like most of the best players in Portugal, he is frequently being linked with a move to Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, most notably England’s Premier League. Before Andre Onana joined United from Inter, Costa was one of the names tipped to move to Old Trafford.
Costa says United full-back Diogo Dalot is “like a brother”, having grown up together at the academy in Porto, while his fellow international team-mate Bruno Fernandes is described as “one of the best” players in the world and “one to stop” at Estadio do Dragao.
But amid links to United and other clubs, why has Costa yet to move?
“What I always say is true – if I never leave Porto, the club I love and learned to play football in, then I will be a happy guy, but we all know what is the life of a footballer,” he explains, in his first interview in English.
According to reports in Portugal, there is a £62.5m release clause in Costa’s contract – a tantalising valuation given his achievements at his boyhood club.
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