Gustavo Hamer has played more games for Coventry City than any other club, but will stun his old fans with a shock admission.
Hamer’s final competitive appearance for the Sky Blues came at the start of the 2023/24 season, just a few short months after starring at Wembley in the 2023 play-off final defeat by Luton Town, the Brazilian playmaker scoring the goal to send the game to extra time and the heartbreak of penalties.
In total he made 132 appearances for the Sky Blues in a three-year stint after arriving at the club from the Netherlands and PEC Zwolle, bagging 19 goals along the way.
But the 27-year-old ensured he made the leap to the Premier League even if his Coventry team-mates were left behind by joining promoted Sheffield United the following August for a fee of around £15m.
Hamer has since gone on to play 70 times for the Blades, both in the top-flight and now back in the Championship, but when discussing where he might like to end his career his answer was perhaps the last one most observers would have come up with.
Hamer, born in Brazil but raised in the Netherlands, began his career with Feyenoord, but failed to make much of an impact in two seasons with the Rotterdam club.
However, Hamer told Dutch media outlet 1908.nl : “Feyenoord is still my club, and I watch every game. I would really like to end up at Feyenoord myself. That would be really great.”
His comments are even more surprising after he recounted his treatment at the club, adding: “I played for Feyenoord from the under-15s and then ended up being treated like that.
“I went to FC Dordrecht on loan and was told I would get my chance in the first team when I returned. I would play minutes in matches for the under-21 and sit on the bench for the first team. Then, with experience, I could join the first team as quickly as possible to become a regular.
“After a good season at FC Dordrecht, I returned to Feyenoord with full confidence. Then they said ‘You have to be loaned out again because you have no experience in the Eredivisie’. That was a shame because that wasn’t the agreement. Then things are said.”
However, Hamer claims he now understands Feyenoord’s stance, adding: “Ultimately, Feyenoord is a club that wants to perform and perhaps did not dare to take a risk with me.
“Then you grow a bit apart with the trainer who was there at the time and with the technical director. I still have warm feelings and I have many friends who are for Feyenoord. So it would be fantastic to do – one, two or maybe three more years with them.”
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