Vítor Pereira reveals departure of former captain: “I don’t need him”
Mario Lemina wore the armband before Nélson Semedo and the Portuguese coach confirmed that he accepted the midfielder’s request to leave Wolverhampton
At the end of the meeting with Newcastle (0-3), Vítor Pereira revealed that Mario Lemina , former captain of Wolverhampton , asked to leave the club, already in this winter market, and that is why the midfielder was not called up for the match this Wednesday.
— I can’t bring in a player who tells me he’s not mentally fit to help the team. He wants to leave”, revealed the Portuguese coach, after the final whistle.
Before Nélson Semedo , it was the Gabonese who wore the captain’s armband, but Gary O’Neil chose to take it off and give it to the Portuguese, a situation that the former FC Porto coach cannot explain: «I don’t know what happened before me, but with this energy and this mentality, I don’t need it. I prefer to play with another player.”
“I have nothing against Lemina or any problem with him. He told me he wanted to leave and communicated that decision to the club a month ago,” he said. Mario Lemina left Nice and returned to the Premier League via Wolves in January 2023, having cost around 11 million euros.
