After three years with Panathinaikos, former Arsenal star Gilberto Silva is leaving Greece to return home, expressing his satisfaction with his spell in this country.
Speaking in an interview on a Sunday newspaper, the 34-year-old Brazilian super star confirmed he is going back home to join Gremio but is leaving with great memories from Greece.
“It is true that I am leaving with the best possible impressions. I have been very happy here in Greece. At Panathinaikos I have had the ideal conditions a club could have offered me.
"The life I’ve had in Greece was exceptional and the city I was in is beautiful. It was also very important for me that the fans embraced me when I moved from Arsenal to Panathinaikos,” said Gilberto who played in 119 games with Panathinaikos.
“I never repented coming here. I wanted to do my best coming to Greece, leave the best impression and I got this opportunity with Panathinaikos.
"I wanted to win league titles and other things and return to the national team. We won the league in 2010 and we could have won it this year, too, but we were unlucky in the end,” he told Real News newspaper.
“But I got invited again at the national team, so in some way I have met my goals. Panathinaikos gave me many things and I am very grateful to this club and the fans. said the defensive midfielder, who was one of Arsenal’s Invincibles.
He added he was particularly moved by the way Panathinaikos fans bid him farewell at the last home game on May 22 and made it clear he would like to return to Panathinaikos on a different role in the future.
“I must say I am relieved to be able toreturn home after nine years abroad,” he stated.
He also said that there are several Panathinaikos players that could make a career abroad, such as Sotiris Ninis, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Loukas Vintra, Nikos Spyropoulos and even teenager Haris Mavrias.
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