RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Jiangsu Suning defender Miranda has expressed a desire to return to Brazil when his contract expires with the Chinese Super League champions next June.
The 36-year-old said he would like to end his career with either his original club Coritiba or Sao Paulo, with whom he won three successive Brazilian Serie A titles in the 2000s.
"Football is a very dynamic thing, it can change a lot in six months, but my thinking is to return to Brazil," the former Atletico Madrid center-back said in an interview with Brazilian news outlet Uol.
"I've had a long period living abroad and now I want to demonstrate my qualities [in Brazil]. I know that I can still contribute a lot to Brazilian football."
Miranda made 28 appearances for Jiangsu Suning in 2020 after joining the club from Inter Milan in July. Despite enjoying his football in China, he says the time is right to return to his homeland.
"I will try to decide my future before ending my contract with Suning, out of respect for the club. My priorities will be Coritiba and Sao Paulo. At the same time, I'm a professional and I'm open to proposals."
Miranda praised China's handling of COVID-19, saying strict sanitary protocols helped the country overcome the pandemic quickly.
"First, they knew how to deal with the disease better, (and) they have better infrastructure than any other part of the world. Second, in sports, they were able to isolate, make all the people involved stay in a kind of bubble. There were two bubbles, in two different cities."
"It wasn't just the players who were isolated, but everyone involved in football. We were all in the same bubble, in the same hotel complex, without having external contact with family, friends. It was successful because nobody was infected during that period," he added. Enditem
