The extension of Schmidt's contract is a clear indication that the club
management is satisfied with his work and believes that he can lead the
team to further success. It also shows that Benfica is committed to
building a long-term project under Schmidt's guidance. Schmidt's contract will go into the summer of 2026 and include an undisclosed buy out clause that should increase from the current €9M mark.
The Italian sides are said to be impressed with his performances and believe that he would add quality to their respective squads. Rafa joined Benfica from Braga in the summer of 2016 and has since become a key player for the Lisbon-based club. The winger's current contract with Benfica runs until the summer of 2024, but it remains to be seen if he will stay at the club beyond this season.
Overall, it will be interesting to see how this transfer saga unfolds over the coming months as Italian clubs continue their pursuit of Rafa Silva.
Players who will be representing their countries:
Portugal - Goncalo Ramos, Joao Mario, Antonio Silva
Portugal U21 - Samuel Soares
Argentina - Nicolas Otamendi
Croatia - Petar Musa
Norway - Fredrik Aursnes
Greece - Odysseas Vlachodimos
Denmark - Alexander Bah
Norway U19 - Andreas Schjelderup
Lafont's name has also been mentioned as a potential future member of France's national side after having already appeared for all of his nations youth squads. Lafont has appeared in 144 games for Nantes across all competitions and posted 35 clean sheets in that time. Lafont also spent a season in Italy as a member of Fiorentina during the 2018/19 season.
The winner of the Benfica/Inter Milan clash will then move on to face the winner of the Napoli/AC Milan encounter in the semi-final round set to take place in May before then making their way to the Finals in Istanbul on June 10 which is fittingly Portugal Day. Benfica's path sees them avoid, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester City until the finals of the competition.
If Benfica are unable to reach an agreement with Grimaldo the club could follow the example of their league rivals and look to acquire a player for a discounted price from inside their respective league. There are a pair of league players who could compete with Ristic for a spot in the starting XI next season and Benfica manager Roger Schmidt may just be able to work some magic a la Joao Mario with one of the two players below.
Leonardo Lelo - Casa Pia - 22 years old
Lelo has had a fantastic season for Casa Pia and has caught the attention of Portuguese clubs, he has appeared in 17 league games, scoring one goal while setting up three. Lelo came up through Olhanense's youth system and has recently received a call up to Portugal's Under 21 squad. Lelo is a complete left back who can take set pieces and has excellent crosses into the box.
Ricardo Mangas - Boavista - 24 years old
Mangas is a former Seixal academy product, so the club has some familiarity with the player, he has appeared in 19 league games this season, scoring two goals. Mangas spent last season on loan with French club Bordeaux where he was regular starter but was returned back to Boavista at seasons end after the French sides relegation. Mangas has a good first touch and speed that allows him to be dangerous in the attacking zone.
.jpeg "Goncalo Guedes out of action with injury")
The 26 year old who is currently on loan at Benfica from Wolverhampton, joined the club during the winter transfer window and had appeared in eight games across all competitions, scoring twice while providing one assist. The club did not announce how much time Guedes will miss after the surgery but the average time of recovery can range from three weeks to three months.
.jpg "Benfica through to quarters after Brugge win")
Benfica opened the scoring just two minutes into the game when Joao Mario beat Brugge keeper Mignolet but the goal would be called back on an offside in the build up to the play. Benfica would then come close on two other occasions before Rafa Silva would neatly skip away from challenges to open the scoring at the thirty-eight minute mark. Goncalo Ramos would then double the lead in first half injury time, after a brilliant Joao Mario reverse pass to the youngster who would beat three Brugge defenders for the score.
Benfica continued their dominance of play in the second half and put the game to rest when Ramos would score his second goal just twelve minutes into the half, converting a Grimaldo cross into the low left side of the net. Joao Mario made it four from the penalty spot after Brugge defender Sylla needlessly brought down Gilberto in the box and then David Neres would get in on the act to make the score 5-0 with some assistance from VAR after the goal was initially ruled offside. Brugge would end their scoreless run in the two leg encounter as Meijer found the back of the net with three minutes left in the game to break the clean sheet but it was too little too late.
Benfica have now earned roughly €70M from this seasons edition of the Champions League a club record to date and will await to find out their opponents in the quarter-finals as the competition moves along.
Gilberto joined Benfica in the summer of 2020 from Fluminense for €3M and has appeared in 97 games across all competitions since his arrival, scoring eight goals while setting up an additional eight. Gilberto lost his place in the starting eleven this season and is currently Benfica's back up right back after the arrival of Alexander Bah this summer.
This is great news for Benfica fans who reside all over the globe in large communities and do not always have the means to travel to Portugal to catch their favourite club live in action. The Taca da Liga competition can turn to Boston, USA; San Jose, USA; Toronto, Canada; Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland which all have large Portuguese communities to host the competition.
Benfica have won this competition seven times since its inception in 2007, which is the most titles won by any team with their last title coming during the 2015/16 season. Benfica would of course have to finish in the top four to be a part of this potential event but it finally shows that the league is thinking outside the box.
