“We are very happy to be here again with the fans, celebrating with them again,” said Nuno Santos.

The winger was one of the players who spoke before the reception on the balcony of the city hall, in front of thousands of fans in Praça do Município, and highlighted the “difficult season” which proved to be successful thanks to the support of “the 12th player”, the fans.

“After the changes we had, our unity and our group were very important for us to win the championship,” he said.

More sparing in words, Belgian Zeno Debast highlighted the “fantastic team” and being “very happy” to be part of it and have the opportunity to celebrate, in his first year with the ‘lion’ on his chest.

Captain Morten Hjulmand highlighted the fans' dedication, that “everyone is here again”, which “means a lot” to the team.

“Despite having had some periods with bad results and a lot of injuries, we still won games, points, and only had two defeats in the I Liga. I am very proud,” he concluded.

Nuno Santos recalled, “there is still one more final to win”, in this case the Portuguese Cup, against rivals Benfica, on Sunday, which could mean the seventh double for the ‘green and whites’.

Sporting were crowned two-time champions on Saturday, 17 May after beating Vitória de Guimarães at home (2-0), in the 34th and final round of the I Liga, winning the title for the 21st time in their history.

Rui Borges' team finished the 91st edition of the championship in first place, with 82 points, and sealed their third title in five years.