Joao Mario reveals Jose Fonte convinced him to move to West Ham

Joao Mario has revealed the persuasive powers of compatriot Jose Fonte convinced him to move to West Ham.

The Hammers secured the services on the Inter Milan midfielder on loan until the end of the season on January 26 – one of only two signings made in the winter window.

And, speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, Mario explained how Fonte contributed to his decision to trade Serie A for the Premier League.
„I knew West Ham were a big club with a lot of history so it was easy to come,“ he told Soccer Saturday.

„It was great because also here at West Ham is Jose Fonte, who plays with me for the national team. That’s made it easier.
„He said good things and tried to convince me all of the time. He told me to come to the best league, a great club and enjoy. That helped a lot so I came to see for myself.“

Mario and Fonte were team-mates in Portugal’s Euro 2016 winning squad and the pair will no doubt be keen to replicate that success as West Ham battle against relegation.

Beyond the Premier League campaign, Mario has his sights set on representing his country at this summer’s World Cup.

And the Portuguese believes guiding the Hammers to safety can secure his spot on the plane to Russia.
„It’s a World Cup year so I need to be fit and playing to be in the squad, that’s the main reason I left Inter,“ Mario added. „I also want to help West Ham and help myself with this experience in the Premier League.

„It’s so competitive here, I was used to a different league, different football. In Italy everything is tactical but the game is so slow. Here it’s fast and physical.

„We need to be ready for all the scenarios. We don’t think about relegation, we need to think higher.

„The most important thing is the next game on Saturday against a team that are in the same situation. We need to think about ourselves and win the game.“
Euro Soccer Bonus

Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.

This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.

The maximum bonus that you can receive is €100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.

If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:

Bet Type Bonus

14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus €100,000 or currency equivalent. Euro Soccer Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.

If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.

If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.

Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.

In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.

All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.

bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.