Did Mora play as much as Gabri? Numbers belie Farioli’s “narrative”

THE Rodrigo Mora’s future continues to be one of the biggest themes at FC Porto today and on Saturday night Francesco Farioli gave a ‘thumb on the table’, ensuring that he has the young 19-year-old player and refuting the accusations that he is not giving him more playing time. The Italian coach was particularly displeased with the words of Luís Miguel Henrique, Mora’s lawyer, who said that the player is sad about the current situation he lives at Dragão, and said that the Portuguese played “almost the same time” as Gabri Veiga, his chosen one for the eleven.

“Rodrigo Mora has been a topic since last season, then things stabilized, but there seems to be a desire to build a narrative around him. I’m here to make decisions, I have to choose 11 players to start and others to join. Having Gabri Veiga and Rodrigo Mora in the same squad is a privilege, but we have to make choices. Last season they played almost the same amount of time. Of course people have expectations, but we have to make decisions and the players have to accept them, because I am paid to manage the team”, said Farioli.

But, after all, what do the numbers from last season say, in which Rodrigo Mora was Gabri Veiga’s direct substitute? Looking at the general panorama, it is possible to see that the Portuguese midfielder accumulated a balance of 1858 minutes, while the Spanish midfielder recorded 2474.

There is, therefore, a difference of 616 minutes between Mora and Gabri Veiga in 2025/26. This difference corresponds to more than a third of the minutes played by Rodrigo Mora. In practical terms, there is almost seven full games difference.

Furthermore, Gabri Veiga was used on 48 occasions, four more than Mora, and started 31 matches, compared to 21 for the young Olival graduate.

In the national championship, the only competition won by FC Porto last season, Rodrigo Mora started in just 14 of the 34 rounds. Gabri Veiga, in turn, started 20 rounds.

The numbers therefore show that Farioli’s statement, that the two players had practically identical usage last season, is not matched by the data.

Ownership at FC Porto in 2025/26

Trend is accentuated in this new season

This trend, preferably by Gabri Veiga, seems to be becoming even more accentuated at the start of the new season. In three official games played in 2026/27, the Spanish midfielder started in all of them and even scored a goal, also playing 218 minutes.

Rodrigo Mora was only allowed 15 minutes in the game against Alverca, at the start of the national championship, and did not leave the bench in the other two games.

As happened last season, Veiga has always been substituted, but Farioli has invested in other resources: against Torreense he brought on Inbeom Hwang to defend the result, whilst against Rio Ave he introduced André Silva, in a more offensive strategy.