Former Benfica winger Angel Di Maria gave an interview with UEFA's official website recently about his career and made sure to give his first European club Benfica major credit for becoming the player that he is today. Angel Di Maria joined Benfica from Rosario during the summer of 2007 for €8M after winning the World Cup U20 in Canada with Argentina. Di Maria told UEFA's website that Benfica gave him everything in his time with the club and that it is like his first home after making the leap from South America to Europe. Di Maria spent three seasons with Benfica, winning one league title, two league cups and appeared in 118 games across all competitions. Di Maria scored 15 goals while setting up 28 before departing to Real Madrid in the summer of 2010 for a then club record transfer fee of €33M. Di Maria also credited Benfica for earning his first call up to the Argentinian National side in September 2008 and that the club will always be important to him and his family.
With this seasons completion still up in the air as in when and where the league may be able to finish it up due to COVID-19, it has not stopped Benfica's coaching staff from thinking of steps to improve the club for next season. Benfica look set to promote another Seixal Academy product with secondary striker Goncalo Ramos' ready to make the move to the main squad. The 18 year old would slip into a role similar to what Jonas and Joao Felix played with the squad in previous years under a 4-4-2 system. Ramos was one of 60 finalists for the recent Golden Boy award won by Joao Felix and was the golden boot winner as a member of Portugal's U19 finalist squad in the recent 2019 U19 European Championship. Ramos has also been a key member of Benfica's UEFA Youth League run to the quarter-finals scoring four goals and adding three assists in six games. Ramos has also chipped in four goals and two assists in twenty games with Benfica's B squad in the Liga Pro. Bruno Lage continues to look for a secondary striker to complement his lead striker and feels that Ramos could be that key player between the midfield to the attack that Benfica has been missing this season. Lage is hoping to find out that answer sooner then later when it comes to Ramos.
Facundo Ferreyra's one and half season loan by Benfica to Espanyol is set to end tentatively on June 30 and the Spanish side plans to decline to exercise the purchase option of €8M from Benfica to make Facundo's move permanent. Facundo joined Espanyol during the winter transfer window of 2019 on loan for a fee of €2.2M and appeared in 33 total games across all competitions for Espanyol scoring nine goals while setting up one during his spell. Facundo was loaned to Espanyol after failing to impress during his short time at Benfica scoring just once in nine games while falling out of favour with former manager Rui Vitoria. Benfica are hoping to find a club to take on the services of the 29 year old striker as they look to shed Ferreyra's high salary from the teams payroll, Ferreyra is signed for another two seasons and not in the teams plans going forward.
