Otamendi will also likely represent Argentina in the Copa America taking place before the Olympics, with the Copa taking place between June 20 to July 14 and the Olympics from July 24 and August 9. This will leave the 35 year old with little to no rest days, depending on the performance of Argentina in the two tournaments.
Since Atalanta won the Europa League earlier this week, it gained automatic entry to next season's Champions League, but by guaranteeing a top 4 spot in Serie A, the Europa League spot now becomes vacant and goes to the best ranked club in the Champions League qualifying stage, which is Benfica.
The direct entry will adjust Benfica's off season plans as they can now focus on strengthening the club, with the group stage only kicking off in September as opposed to playing two rounds of qualifying, which would have commenced in early August.
The revamped Champions League format will see all clubs that qualify for the group stage play a minimum of eight games now, two against clubs in pots 1, 2, 3 and 4. The top eight clubs out of the 36 clubs advance automatically into the round of 16. While the clubs that finish 9th to 24th play a two leg playoff for a spot in the round of 16.
Clubs that finish 25th or lower are eliminated from the competition and have no entry into the Europa League. Benfica will be seeded in pot 2 when the draw takes place on August 29th.
Di Maria has always stated that his dream would be to finish his career at Rosario, but an event in March, when the 36 year old winger received threats to himself and his family if he were to return to Argentina, put those thoughts in doubt.
Di Maria is said to have had a change of heart and is once again open to returning to Rosario but he would do so alone, with his family moving to Miami to live. Di Maria is also demanding that heavy security be provided by Rosario for himself and that he will live in Buenos Aires, a full 300 km away from Rosario.
Benfica President Rui Costa is still set to meet Di Maria next week to discuss the winger staying at the club for another season, but a social media post by his spouse stating that she and Di Maria will miss Otamendi and his spouse has set the rumour mill of departure on overdrive.
I never imagined that I would grow a following, not only on Blogger but also on Twitter, Flipboard and Reddit. I have striven to provide an honest look at Benfica over these years without being biased in my views of the club and on the majority of occasions, I feel that I have accomplished that.
This has now become a passion of mine and I hope to continue providing the fans of this blog with the latest insights, news and potential moves pertaining to the club for another 1000 posts. Here's a toast to that.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this blog over the years and I hope you continue to do so going forward.
Links to some of our pages are below if you would like to follow me in other areas.
X (Formerly Twitter) - CLICK HERE
Reddit - CLICK HERE
Flipboard - CLICK HERE
A Leverkusen win would have seen Benfica earn an automatic spot as opposed to their current 3rd qualifying round spot but all is not lost for the Lisbon club as a Top 4 finish by Atalanta in Serie A would also see the club earn the automatic spot.
Atalanta currently sits in fifth place in Italy, trailing both third and fourth place by two points with a game in hand, but with their Europa League win, they do not have anything to really play for in their final two games, which could prove costly for Benfica in regards to their direct entry hopes.
Schmidt is said to have turned down another approach from Bayern Munich this past week as he is committed to remaining at Benfica and returning the club to glory next season. Schmidt has captured two trophies with Benfica, the Portuguese League title in 2022-23 and the Super Cup in the summer of 2023. The club and its fans hope Schmidt can find the magic that made the club so spectacular to watch in his first season.
Benfica's 2023-24 disappointing season is finally over and the off-season can begin tomorrow to improve this club for the upcoming season, which is set to commence in August. Benfica, in their final game of the season, gave up an injury time penalty that allowed Rio Ave to gain a 1-1 draw in a match that saw the club use a handful of second stringers in their final starting eleven.
Benfica does not go home empty handed during the campaign, having captured the Super Cup to kick off the Portuguese season, but that was all the way back in August and many fans, myself included, do not see that as anything but a minor consolation for what turned into a season of sour grapes.
Benfica have a lot of decisions to make over the next couple of months, with the biggest being whether manager Roger Schmidt will continue on the sidelines. The club will also need to find itself a striker and look at improving both wing back positions if they are to succeed going forward.
What is certain this off-season is that the club will see the departure of Rafa Silva, but Orkun Kokcu seems to be a viable replacement, as the Turkish attacking midfielder has looked much improved since being placed in his desired position the past couple of months.
Let the rumour mill begin as the off season is officially on
After a season when the club struggled to find a regular left back after the departure of starter Alex Grimaldo during the summer. Schmidt is hoping that the club will land his preferred choice all along in the 25 year old Brazilian left back.
With Junior's contract set to end in the summer of 2025, the Dutch club could be more inclined to move the left back for a lower value to avoid him walking for free. Junior has been at PSV since the summer of 2017 and has appeared in 124 games across all competitions.
Benfica should do what it takes to get a reliable left back after the carousal of left backs that were used this season. Benfica used a total of six different players at some point throughout the season, with many playing out of position. The club will need to make sure they hit on this move, as it will be important to succeed next season.
The speedy forward joined Benfica from Braga for €16M in the summer of 2016 and the club has gotten the most out of the soon to be 31-year-old. Rafa has appeared in 325 games across all competitions, scoring 92 goals while providing 78 helpers.
Rafa ends his Benfica career in the Top 25 of all time in both appearances and goals scored and captured six trophies during his eight seasons at the club, with three of the silverware being a league championship.
Benfica play their final home game of the season this weekend against Arouca at the Estadio da Luz and Rafa will be set to say his good bye to the club's fans as he moves onto the next chapter of his playing career as a fan favourite for his long time commitment to the club.
President Rui Costa will have some serious decisions to make this summer, with the most hotly debated being whether manager Roger Schmidt should return for a third season after a disappointing campaign that saw the club only capture the Super Cup to kick off the football season.
Schmidt still has two years remaining on his contract and his departure from the club with his staff could prove quite costly. The other decisions that Costa will need to make is which players will remain with the club next season and which will see their time end.
The club has free agents in Angel di Maria and Rafa Silva. The thought is that both would be open to remaining with the club, but Costa would be best to save those potential big salaries that both players would command and go in a different direction next season.
Benfica also has a striker issue, with only Marcos Leonardo, who arrived in January, likely to continue at the club next season. So look for the club to move on from low scoring strike options Arthur Cabral and Casper Tengstedt when the summer window opens.
Look for Benfica to also cash in on some of their more valuable youngsters, with Antonio Silva and Joao Neves' names the most mentioned moving on, but I can only see the club moving on from one of the two, with the most likely candidate being Antonio Silva.
Benfica should also make some smaller moves with the likes of Joao Mario, Florentino and Morato potentially donning new club jerseys next season. This will be an interesting summer and Benfica fans hope that the next set of departures and arrivals will bring silverware next season.
It has been a disappointing season for Benfica fans. A lot more was expected from this team, which on paper is the strongest squad in the Portuguese League but has been poorly managed all season. The club will see a series of changes during the summer season, which should see a series of players coming in and going out.
Kick off for today's game is at 8:30pm WEST.
Jota Silva was recently named the league player of the month for March in Portugal and also earned his first call up to the Portugal national side during this same month, coming on as a substitute in two contests.
Jota has been a key player for Guimaraes this season as the Minho club battles for a top three spot for the first time since the 2007-08 season. Jota has appeared in 39 games across all competitions, scoring 15 goals while providing seven helpers.
Guimaraes is said to be looking for €15M to move on from Jota, which would be a hefty profit on the €190K that they paid Casa Pia in the summer of 2022 to acquire the 24-year-old.
Benfica acquired Morato in the summer of 2019 for €7.6M and the 22 year old has appeared in 83 games for the club across all competitions, scoring twice while providing two helpers since joining the club. Morato has garnered interest from clubs in Europe's bigger leagues but with the potential of Benfica moving current starter Antonio Silva in the summer. The Lisbon club would like to hang onto the left-footed defender, who would most likely slide into a starting role with the club.
