Benfica's away jersey for 2024-25 season has been a big hit with fans, as the club announced that it has set record sales even without the club donning it yet this preseason. This season's away jersey is not just a shirt but a piece of history crafted by the stars. Benfica has paid tribute to the club's faithful with a design that has the alignment of the stars from February 28, 1904, the date that the club was founded.
This connection to its founding day gives the jersey a celestial vibe,
making fans feel like they’re wearing a piece of history. It’s more than
just fabric; it’s a badge of honor that connects fans to their club's
origins.
Benfica has always been a club steeped in tradition, but this away
jersey shows that they’re not afraid to innovate. By paying homage to
their roots while embracing modern design elements, the club strikes the
perfect balance. It’s like mixing the old with the new, creating
something that’s fresh yet familiar. This approach not only honors the
past but also looks boldly toward the future.
Anyone interested in purchasing this season's jersey can go to the club's official site and hit the online store, where you can get a variety of products to go along with the jersey.
Benfica has a golden opportunity on their hands. The spotlight's shining
bright on a young talent from Famalicao, a 19-year-old attacking
midfielder who's turning heads and making waves in the football world.
This isn't just another player to keep an eye on; this kid could be the
secret ingredient Benfica needs to spice up their midfield.
When it comes to scouting the next big football talent, Benfica has
not always kept a keen eye on the emerging stars of Portugal but this could change with the buzz around the league in Gustavo Sa. The 19-year-old, with his skills, creativity, and
potential, he could be the missing puzzle piece for Benfica and a perfect replacement for the now departed Rafa Silva.
What’s truly exciting is how he plays. Sa doesn’t shy away from taking
on defenders. He dribbles with confidence, weaving through opponents
like a skilled artist painting a masterpiece. He has the capability to
change the game in a heartbeat. Can you envision him linking up with
Benfica’s star forwards? The possibilities are endless.
Benfica has a storied history of nurturing young talents and turning
them into footballing legends. With an eye on the future, the club
should focus on integrating young players like Sa into their strategy.
The current squad could use a breath of fresh air. Why settle for the
same old routine when there’s a vibrant talent ready to take the stage?
Bringing Sa into the mix would not only diversify the squad but also
create competition for places. This kind of healthy rivalry can spark
growth both for Sa and the club. After all, every great team thrives on
the strength of its players pushing each other to new heights.
In today’s football world, investing in young talent is not just about
sporting success; it makes financial sense too. Clubs are increasingly
looking to secure players who can appreciate in value over time. If Sa
continues to develop, his market worth could skyrocket, and Benfica
could stand to benefit immensely from that.
Sa appeared in 32 games for Famalicao across all competitions last season, scoring four goals while providing five helpers. His slick performances also earned him a call up to Portugal's U21 side. Benfica could land Sa in a range of €10M to €15M, while allowing Famalicao to hold a certain percentage on a future sale.
The sky is the limit with Sa and Benfica should turn their attention to some home grown talent that are brewing with other club's at home and this is the perfect player to start off with.
Benfica are set for the Eusebio Cup against Dutch side Feyenoord at the Estadio da Luz on Sunday in what will be the club's fifth and second last preseason game as the get set to kick off the 2024-25 season next month.
This is the twelfth edition of the Eusebio Cup and surprisingly Benfica has only won the contest on four occasions since it's inception in 2008. The cup has not been played consistently every preseason and this is only the third contest in the last seven years.
Benfica are hoping to be able to hoist the coveted trophy when their Sunday contest concludes and will have one remaining preseason friendly against Fulham before the season commences.
Turkish side Galatasaray has had a €12M offer made for Benfica right back Alexander Bah rejected by the club, but the defending Super Lig champions are not going to give up so easily in their pursuit of the Danish international.
Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk envisions Bah as the perfect choice for his club's right side of the back four, but Benfica prefers to retain the 26 year old unless they receive an offer that knocks their socks off to move on from Bah during the summer.
Bah arrived at Benfica in the summer of 2022 from Slavia Prague for €8M and has appeared in 74 games across all competitions, scoring three goals while providing eleven helpers. Bah battled injuries throughout the 2023-24 season and Benfica is hoping that the worse has passed in regards to them.
Benfica striker Arthur Cabral is becoming a wanted man as the 26 year old gathers interest from a variety of clubs in Europe and the Middle East. Cabral looks to be the odd man out since the arrival of striker Vangelis Pavlidis from AZ Alkmaar earlier in the transfer window, as the club has a trio of high priced strikers at their disposal, but manager Schmidt's system only calls for one to be used at a time.
Cabral arrived last summer from Fiorentina in a €20M deal in the hopes of replacing Goncalo Ramos, who departed for PSG but the Brazilian never seemed to be the right puzzle piece. Benfica have spent €56M in the past year on Cabral, Pavlidis and Marcos Leonardo but will need to move on from one of the trio and Cabral looks to be the odd man out.
Spanish club Espanyol has been in touch with Benfica in hopes of acquiring Cabral on loan for the season, along with Italian clubs Genoa and Monza. Saudi League club Neom FC has also gotten in touch with the Lisbon side in hopes of striking a deal for a move by Cabral this summer.
Cabral played 1,965 minutes for Benfica last season, appearing in 43 games across all competitions, scoring 11 goals while providing 3 helpers with only 19 of those games being starts. Benfica would prefer to sell the striker over sending him out on loan as they look to recuperate the money spent last summer to acquire Cabral.
Renato Sanches very much wants a Benfica return, as rumours are high that the former Seixal academy product will head back to Lisbon from PSG. Sanches is said to have other options, but his preference is to return to his former club on loan for the 2024-25 season.
The potential loan would not cost Benfica a dollar, as PSG is open to paying all costs which would include paying all of Sanches' wages during the loan spell. PSG is currently in talks with Benfica for Joao Neves and looks to be sweetening the pot in hopes to lower Benfica's hefty price tag for the 19 year old.
Sanches was sold from Benfica in the summer of 2016 to Bayern Munich for €35M and has had a roller coaster of a career that has seen him go from highs, which include Ligue 1 team of the year, to lows that include, poor play and long stints injured, while making stops at various clubs that include Swansea, Lille and Roma.
Benfica sees Sanches' as an ideal replacement for Neves, if he is to depart the club and hopes that a return home can help revive the 26 year old's stalled career. Roger Schmidt is said to be onboard with the move for the midfielder who would add depth to the club if he can stay healthy.
Benfica look to have agreed to a new deal with winger Angel di Maria to return to the Lisbon club for one more season after seeing his contract end on June 30th, according to a tweet by famed football journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The 36 year old seems to have looked at his available options and felt that Benfica is the best choice for himself and his family for at least one more season. Di Maria appeared in 48 games across all competitions, scoring 17 goals and setting up 15 assists in his return to Benfica.
Here is hoping that Roger Schmidt uses Di Maria a bit more efficiently than he did during the 2023-24 season, as the overuse of Di Maria did see the Argentinian look gassed at certain points towards the second half of the season.
No information about the contract has yet to be released, but you would have to expect that Di Maria will sign a contract with a lower annual salary than the €9M+ that he was paid by the club in 2023-24. I can not say that I like the move but I can live with it if he is used better then he was last season by the manager.
Benfica's newly signed striker, Vangelis Pavlidis will be out of action for a minimum of two weeks following his surgery to repair a broken right thumb, an injury suffered early into the club's second friendly against Spanish side Celta Vigo after landing on his thumb from an awkward fall.
The 25 year old Greek international got off to an exciting start with the club, scoring three goals in the club's first two friendlies after Benfica paid AZ Alkmaar €18M for the striker's services just a few weeks ago and hope that this minor setback, is just that, a minor setback as the club counts on Pavlidis to be a big piece of a club looking to recapture the league title this season.
Benfica look to have found their solution at left back with today's signing of Jan-Niklas Beste from German club FC Heidenheim. Benfica will pay €8M to acquire Beste, with a potential €2M in add ons if certain incentives are met and sign Beste to a five year contract.
Beste is the second left back acquired by Benfica this summer after they activated the buy clause on Alvaro Fernandez at the conclusion of the season and the club is hoping that both players will bring out the best in one another as they battle for playing minutes with the Lisbon club.
The 25 year old has been used in more of wing back role over the previous few seasons with Heidenheim and has not played regularly at left back since the 2020-21 season. This is the type of player that manager Roger Schmidt loves, as he can move anywhere along the left side of the field if needed.
Beste appeared in thirty-two games, scoring eight goals while providing fourteen helpers across all competitions for Heidenheim last season, his first full season in Bundesliga action. The left footer was also one of the last cuts to make the German squad for this summer's Euro 2024.
The Portuguese League has released the full schedule for the 2024-25 season and we now all know who Benfica will face week in and week out.
Benfica will kick off their campaign on the road against Famalicao on the weekend of August 11th and open the season at the Luz the following weekend against Casa Pia.
Benfica will take on rivals FC Porto in Week 11 at home and Week 28, they will face city rivals Sporting in Week 16 on the road and Week 33 and end the season on the weekend of May 17 on the road at Braga.
Benfica will also travel back to the islands to face both Santa Clara and Nacional who make their returns to top flight. Benfica are in Sao Miguel, Azores for Week 22 of the season and in the Madeira on Week 8.
Benfica will be looking to get winter transfer signing Gianluca Prestianni some regular playing time this season, but it will not be with the club as they look to loan the 18 year old. The club is currently assessing their options on where it would be best to place the winger, as they want to make sure Prestianni is put in the best possible position to grow.
Ajax are said to be the front runners to land Prestianni's services, but there are also a few Argentinian clubs with interest in bringing home the U17 international. Benfica acquired Prestianni from Velez Sarsfield for €9M and any loan of the player will not include a buy option.
Benfica are hoping that a Prestianni loan will have the same results as Andreas Schjeldrup, who returned to Norwegian club Nordsjaelland last season on loan. The 20 year old scored ten goals and provided eleven assists across 38 games, his performance not only had him named the spring season player of the year but also earned him his first call up to the national side.
In a shocking turn of events, Benfica is said to be in talks with Barcelona about bringing home Seixal Academy product Joao Felix. Benfica have offered Atletico Madrid €20M to obtain 50% of Felix's pass, while Atletico are open to the move if they are to receive €25M for the same ownership.
This is just five years after Benfica sold Felix to Atletico for a whopping record fee of €127.2M after his breakout performance during the 2018-19 season. Felix, who is still only 24 years old, has had moments of brilliance in his time at Atletico but has fallen out of favour at the club and spent the past season and a half on loan at Chelsea and Barcelona.
The biggest obstacle to Felix returning to his boyhood club could be the salary he currently commands, which is in excess of €4M per season after a contract restructure with Atletico last summer, but after paying Angel di Maria over €9M last season, it may not be as big of an obstacle as some will make you believe.
With Di Maria off the books this year, a return for Felix could make a lot of sense for both parties, as Benfica looks to add to their attack while Felix looks to get what was once a promising career back on track. Felix appeared in 44 games across all competitions for Barcelona last season, scoring ten goals while providing six helpers.
Felix would likely slot into the role that recently departed Rafa Silva held at the club and is also able to play either wing if required by the club. Benfica hopes to rejuvenate Felix's career and may once again get top dollar for a player who just in 2021-22, was named Atletico's player of the year by the club's supporters.
Benfica have finally announced the acquisition of AZ Alkmaar striker Vangelis Pavlidis today, acquiring the Greek international for €18M with an additional €2M in add-ons for incentives met. Benfica respected the wishes of AZ Alkmaar to not make the signing official until today, as the Dutch club wanted to move the signing to their new fiscal year budget.
Pavlidis will follow in the footsteps of other Greeks who at one time donned the famous Benfica jersey from: Giorgos Karagounis (2005-2007), Kostas Mitroglou (2015-2017), Andreas Samaris (2014-2021), Konstantinos Katsouranis (2006-2009) and most recently, keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos (2018-2023).
Pavlidis has been with AZ Alkmaar since the summer of 2021, when he arrived from Dutch club William II. He has also spent time in Germany in his teen years with Borussia Dortmund and VFL Bochum, but never really got a chance with the main squads. The 25 year old scored 34 goals last season across all competitions for Alkmaar, while providing five helpers. and capturing the golden boot in the Eredivisie with 29 goals.
Benfica have signed Pavlidis to a five year contract with a €100M buyout clause and Alkmaar will retain 10% of the players pass on a future sale of the striker. Benfica are hoping that Pavlidis will come in and provide the club with some scoring from the striker position, something they were sorely lacking during last season's disappointing campaign.
.jpg "Benfica will loan Prestianni out this season")
.jpg "Benfica looking to bring Joao Felix home for cut rate price")
