Nuno Tavares confirms Matteo Guendouzi helped convince him to join Lazio, as he wanted a new experience after Arsenal. ‘I immediately realised this is a great club and surprised at how much I feel at home.’
The left-back completed the transfer on Monday, as it is reportedly a loan with obligation to buy for €6m plus leaving the Gunners a cut of the future sell-on fee.
“My name is Nuno Tavares and I am a Lazio player,” the Portuguese talent told Lazio Style Channel.
“I feel very good. I immediately realised this is a great club, I am pretty surprised at how much I feel at home already. I am at a big club that is challenging for important targets and that is the most important thing.”
The 24-year-old moved from Benfica to Arsenal in 2021 for €8m, then had loan spells at Olympique Marseille and Nottingham Forest.
“I wanted a new project in my career, I discussed it with my family and my agents. We evaluated the various proposals and decided to accept this new challenge. I watched several Lazio games over the season, especially when Matteo arrived, then even more under Igor Tudor.
“I watched the Coppa Italia match against Juventus, the two Rome derbies and a couple of Champions League games.”
Guendouzi inspired Nuno Tavares
It is with that in mind that there were reports Nuno Tavares had personally talked to Guendouzi about accepting the move to Lazio.
“We never crossed paths at Arsenal, but I did know Guendouzi from our time at Marseille. We had a great rapport and remained in contact. I did talk to him about Lazio and that made it easier for me to accept this move.”
Since Guendouzi joined in January, a lot has changed, as Maurizio Sarri resigned in March, then so did Tudor in June, and the coach is now Marco Baroni.
“I am a defender who likes to play the ball, not just run and chase it down. The way to get the best out of me is by playing good football,” added Nuno Tavares.
“I am very happy to be at this club, I realised straight away that the fans are fantastic, they have great passion for the team. They can expect me to give my all to help Lazio win.”
He will wear the Number 30 jersey at the Stadio Olimpico.