Rodrigo Gomes admits he couldn’t wait to be back to pre-season training with Wolves ahead of what he hopes will be a brighter second campaign in the Premier League.
The Portuguese had a summer to remember after scoring twice for his country at the European Under-21 Championships, and although his return to pre-season training was delayed due to his exploits with Portugal, the wing-back has fitted straight back into the group.
With pre-season coming to a close this week with the final friendly outing against Celta Vigo at Molineux on Saturday, Gomes is not concerned about results not going the team’s way in the warm-up matches, insisting the squad is in high spirits as they look to begin the new season strongly.
On returning for a second season with Wolves
“It’s been good, very good. We are enjoying being here, the weather is nice, I think the team is very good and we’ve been practising well.
“It was a little bit tough because the first weeks are always tough and the other players have already been training for a few weeks, so it was a little bit tougher, but it was good because the lads welcomed us very well.
“But the environment is very good, the lads are very happy to be together and I’m very happy to be here too after a good season, and then the Euros. I had a good break on vacation, but I was missing being this and being here with the lads, so it was very good to be back.”
Rodrigo back in the building 😄 pic.twitter.com/2pvLNkY6SF
— Wolves (@Wolves) July 25, 2025
On spending summer at the U21 Euros
“It was a dream come true to represent my country on a tournament like that. It was like a dream. Unfortunately, we lost in the quarter-finals, but it was good to be there. I scored two goals, which was good for me too, but it’s football and you don’t win every time, but it was a very good experience, as it was my first time playing in that kind of tournament.
“It’s amazing [to score for his country]. It’s a dream come true playing for Portugal, playing for my country, it’s a dream to play there, so to score goals to help the team to achieve the win, it’s a dream.”
On his first taste of the Premier League
“It was a tough season, but it was a good season for me to know how to play in England, to adapt myself here to English football. It was a good season, a tough season, but a good season for me. I think I’ve grown as a player, and that’s the most important thing for me.
“The Premier League is tougher than I thought. I knew it was going to be very difficult, but it was more than I expected. It’s important to grow and to leave your comfort zone, and I did this last year.
“The players are so fast, so good, a lot of quality, a lot of physicality in the game too. It’s the best league in the world, so it’s tough, but it’s a dream to be here, I’m very happy to be here, and I am trying to increase my level to play here for many years.”
On increasing the levels in pre-season
“Pre-season is very good for you to test new things, to prepare yourself for the season, because it’s a very tough season. Pre-season is very important to get fit again, to know how to play with the new players and the games as well are very important.
“Of course, you want to win every game, we wanted to win against Girona, but in pre-season, that’s not the main goal. The main goal is to increase our level in the team, increase our football and I think we are doing that, and we are getting better.
“It’s been easier this summer and my English now is better. When I first moved here, my English was not that good, but here we have a lot of Portuguese and Brazilian players and they all helped me a lot to settle in. But now I know everyone and they are a very good group, and for the new players, you see Fer [Lopez], you see Jhon Arias, they are already settled, so we are a very good team who welcome everybody really well.”
On feeling positive about 2025/26
“I think we can do good things this season. The team are really happy, we are really together, we are in a good way and we are preparing well this pre-season. I think we can do good things, very good things in this season, but we still need to increase our level. Obviously, it’s normal, so if we can practice well then we can do good things here.
“My hopes for the season is to do a good season. Individually, I want to try to play more, try to score and assist mall goals and try to help the team more with goals, assists and minutes, as I want to try to be more involved in the team. For the group in general, we want to have a good season.
“We have a very good team and last season proved that the team was in a bad spot, but when Vitor came in, we showed we have the capacity to increase our level and to leave that position. Now, we need to maintain that work and try to go higher in the table.”
