Wolves’ Portuguese contingent including Neves and Jota has been gorging on a 1,800 calorie sandwich to cure their homesickness
The likes of Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota love Wolverhampton haunt, Aromas de Portugal, where they scoff their favourite sarnie called the Francesinha. SunSport visited the cafe to feast on the meaty/cheesy delight to see what the fuss was about
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IF you're a nutritionist for Premier League giants Wolves, you may want to look away now.
The Midlands clubs' Portuguese contingent have been tucking into THE FRANCESINHA – Portugal’s answer to the French Croque Monsieur, that contains a whopping 1,800 calories.
Stars such as Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota are guilty of gorging on the cheesy/meaty treat at their much-loved Wolverhampton haunt, Aromas de Portugal - a Portuguese café in the heart of the city, owned by Monica Lopes.
She says it’s Neves’ guilty pleasure which should come as no surprise really because, like Monica, Wolves’ midfield maestro comes from Oporto, where the super sandwich originated.
“Ruben Neves, Jota, Helder Costa and Caveilero come in most often," she revealed.
"But there is no doubt about it, the Francesinha is the players’ favourite thing to eat.
“It’s the most famous dish from Oporto and I think they miss it the most, although I believe their wives sometimes make it for them.
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“It’s based on the French Croque Monsieur and so you have a slice of bread, a layer of ham, then Portuguese cheese melted, then a layer of Chorizo, then Portuguese hot-dog sausage, topped by a steak.
“Repeat those layers, finishing with anther slice of bread with melted cheese on top – and finally you smother it in the famous Portuguese sauce.”
As our pictures show it’s not for the faint-hearted.
But purely for research purposes, you understand, I tackled the 1,800-calorie monster munch for lunch.
And it has to be said I can see why Wolves players are flocking to Monica’s café, where a signed Wolves shirt takes pride of place.
The secret of a good Francesinha is the sauce, according to Neves and Jota - and Monica has clearly nailed hers.
“Portuguese sauce has whisky and beer in it, beef stock, piri piri sauce for a kick and other special ingredients which are secret,” said Monica, who had already won me over at 'whisky!'
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But how often can Wolves’ stars wolf down the ‘doorstep,’ on their doorstep before Nuno Esperito Santo calls in the sports science police?
“The players order the Francesinha a lot but not every time they visit,” Monica revealed. “I think it is a special treat for them when they have burned up a lot of calories!
What is the Francesinha sandwich?
THE Francesinha can be found all over Oporto – and packs a punch with around 1,800 calories a serving.
It’s based on the famous Croque Monsieur, and contains ham, chorizo, steak, sausage and melted cheese between two hefty slices of bread - topped off with a special sauce that includes whisky and beer.
Legend has it that Napoleonic troops rampaging through Portugal in the early 1800s started the taste for the toasted meaty/cheesy sandwiches.
The Francesinha – or ‘little French girl’ – was invented by a chef called Daniel da Silva in the 1960s, when he returned from a spell in France.
“They also love pastel de nata, Portugal’s world-famous custard tarts.
"But Wolves are winning a lot so it must be good for them.”
There are now seven Portuguese players at Molineux and Monica says she likes to think she is doing her bit to cure any homesickness.
“I think food is important in life and it’s the thing the Portuguese players at Wolves miss the most about home – Portuguese food and the weather,” she said.
“They like their life here in England but there are cultural differences. People eat much earlier in England.
"In Portugal the working day ends at 7pm so you can still find restaurants and coffee shops open at midnight.
“Back home the players would probably eat around 9pm at night, little differences like that.”
Sadly, after eight years in England, Monica is selling up and Aromas de Portugal is currently on the market.
Wolves' Portuguese ex-pats
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo, 44
Joao Moutinho, 31
Rui Patricio, 30
Ruben Neves, 21
Pedro Goncalves, 20
Diogo Jota, 21
Ruben Vinagre, 19
Helder Costa, 24
Ivan Cavaleiro, 25
Her friends at Wolves have begged her to make sure their favourite café stays in Portuguese hands but Monica says she doesn’t expect any of the players to spend some of this season’s win-bonuses on buying her place.
“Paulo and I have been in Wolverhampton for eight years now and it’s time to go back to our families in Oporto,” she said.
“I hope everything is resolved by February at the latest but I don’t think the Wolves players will buy my café.
";They are still young and footballers move around a lot from city to city.
“My boyfriend told me footballers prefer to wait until they finish playing before they set up in business, which I can understand.
“I’d love to take Ruben Neves back to Porto with me but I don’t think he’d return because he is doing such a great job here for Wolverhampton.
“People talk about him going to Manchester City or United one day but the boys are happy at Wolves, although like anyone else they will always do what is best for their families.
“Hopefully they will qualify for the Champions’ League with Wolves and play against Porto one day – even though that would put me in a bad position.
“It would be a hard choice but if they meet in the group stages they can have one win each at home and BOTH qualify for the knockout stage!”
The one member of Wolves’ staff who has yet to visit Aromas de Portugal is manager Nuno Esperito Santo.
“I think he is a very quiet person who likes his own space,” Monica said.
“If he comes here to the city centre everyone is going to recognise him and want a selfie with him.
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“The players really appreciate the love everybody has for them in Wolverhampton and so they must be doing a very good job.”
Perhaps Nuno is simply a sucker for some clever advertising and has never made it as far as Aromas de Portugal.
Just around the corner from Monica’s café is a rival eatery called Bethanys.
A sign placed prominently in its window simply says: “NUNO – YOU CAN EAT HERE FREE.”