Moussa Marega craves Premier League experience after Porto feat

Moussa Marega has disclosed his readiness to leave Porto in search of a new challenge this summer.

The forward revealed his admiration for the English Premier League as he plans to bring an end to his two-year stay with Sergio Conceicao's charges.

Following an impressive tally of 23 goals in 41 matches during the 2017-18 campaign, the former Amiens player feels his time with the Portuguese champions is up, and set for a new adventure elsewhere, preferably in England.

"I, we [Porto] had a beautiful year and with this title of champion that is a huge pride. I'm coming out of a year with 23 goals in all competitions," Marega told SFR Sport .

"For me, I think this is perhaps the best time to try my luck elsewhere, to live a new experience, to know a new championship, the Premier League, for example.

"And it hurts me to say that because I am very attached to this club, to its supporters who give me a lot.

"I like this championship for a long time. At the same time, who does not like the Premier League. It's a very big league, with very big players.

"It's flattering when clubs are interested in you, but I have always dreamed of playing there. I want to be happy, with my family, in a championship that I love."

When asked if he has received any certain offer about his future, Marega who is enjoying holidays with his family in Dubai said: "I do not think about it. I let my agent, Aziz Ben Aissa, handle this. I enjoy the title and holidays."

The 27-year-old joined the Estadio do Dragao outfit from Maritimo in January 2016 but his early days at the club were marred with frustrations.

The Malian striker stated that he was among a group of players ill-treated by former boss Nuno Espirito Santo before moving to Guimaraes on loan six months after his transfer.

"I arrived at FC Porto in January 2016. I was very happy to sign in such a big club. For me, it was an honour, a pride, compared to my mother, my father," he added.

"The first four months made me a little disgusted with football. I was the little player everyone laughed at. Supporters, a certain press mocked me. It was a very difficult time.

"And then, it was the holidays and I got in my hands. I took a physical trainer, Fabien Delporte, who did a lot of physical work but also mental work on me, because I was really sad. Just the idea of returning to Portugal, to meet people's eyes was difficult for me to accept.

"But during the recovery with FC Porto I was a warrior. All this was cut when Nuno Espírito Santo told me after a few days of training that he does not know me and that I have to look for a club. We were a few players removed from the first team, to train apart. It was then that there was this loan to Guimaraes."

Porto clinched their first league title since 2013 last season, and Marega is full of praise for Sergio Conceicao who brought him back from his loan spell and gave the club their 28th league silverware.

"It's crazy. He knows who he's going to go to war with. As soon as he is sure of a player, he trusts him to the end," he continued.

"During training, if it starts to laugh, it is enough that he looks and everyone starts to work seriously. He knows how to give rage but he is also a very good tactician.

"We are not champions without playing, without doing, knowing the game and with him and his staff. Video sessions, training sessions, warm-ups, tactical sessions, his assistants, his physical trainers, all work hard to ensure that everything is studied. They are a group that could work in any club."