Claudio Braga addresses Hearts future amid transfer interest as summer deals give him Champions League hope
The Hearts striker has been linked with a transfer away from Gorgie.
Claudio Braga insists all talk of the future is being left to his agents as he focuses on Hearts’ Champions League bid.
The striker has watched Derek McInnes, Lawrence Shankland and more depart the Tynecastle club since last season ended. He’s now been linked with a Premiership exit, as French side Lyon register interest, but a bumper fee will be demanded by Hearts for one of their top assets.
New head coach Wouter Vrancken will hope to utilise the Portuguese striker in Champions League second round qualifiers versus Sturm Graz next month and league business from August onwards. Gorgie transfer incomings have provided encouragement for Braga ahead of that tilt as his own future is left for others to handle.
Claudio Braga on Hearts future
He said in an interview with Portuguese outlet A Bola: “I have two years left on my contract and I really like where I am. Anything regarding interest is handled by my agents. I stay out of it. I’m about to fulfil one of my biggest dreams. Just knowing it’s possible to play in the Champions League is incredible, even if it’s only a qualifier.
“We’re facing a very strong team in Sturm Graz, but at Tynecastle we’re very strong as well. We proved that last season. We’ve lost some players, that’s true, but we’re strengthening the squad. At home, anything can happen. Away from home we’ll give everything, but above all we want to enjoy the opportunity, shine and take this club into the league phase.
Braga started on the bench during the final day of last season, as Celtic beat Hearts to pip them to the the title at Parkhead, the away side departing quickly amid a pitch invasion sparking player safety fears. It’s a pain that hasn’t left Braga but scenes back in Gorgie when welcomed back by supporters in maroon showed him what a memorable season the group had embarked upon.
Hearts reaction to losing the league vs Celtic
He added: “It was horrible. Almost everything about the season was perfect. Every time we lost or drew, we always responded by winning the next match. We never had two draws or two defeats in a row. But after coming so close to lifting the trophy and then seeing everything change in the final seconds and Celtic celebrating… the season stopped being historic and incredible because that last piece was the most important.
“We hardly spent any time in Glasgow. We left the pitch straight away because the Celtic fans invaded. So we went straight to the dressing room. There was no team talk, we didn’t even get changed or have a shower. We went straight onto the bus.
“Thousands of people were waiting for us at Tynecastle. That’s when it really hit us. As we got off the bus we all started crying. We felt we’d let people down, even though nobody at the club ever expected us to get that far. After coming so close and losing, seeing so many people smiling, supporting us, singing and welcoming us like that… I’m getting goosebumps talking about it. It was incredible. It wasn’t what we wanted, but we made most of the supporters proud.”