vice-President Makes Statement And Gives Chelsea Real Chance To Sign Defender

In a recent interview with O Jogo, Benfica’s vice-president, Luis Mendes, dropped a hint that one of the clubs star players could be departing the club in the summer.

It is no secret in the media that defender Thiago Silva is very likely to leave the club at the end of the season and move back to his homeland – something that he wants to do at this stage of his career.

Joao Neves is a player that we have been linked with in recent weeks – although his massive £100 million asking price may become an issue for some chasing clubs in the summer.

However – Mendes emphasized the imperative for Benfica, as a publicly traded sports company, to engage in player transfers to facilitate investments in youth prospects.

Despite their importance to the squad, Mendes acknowledged the inevitability of player sales, stating that Benfica must assess market opportunities and make prudent decisions to ensure the club’s financial stability and capacity for new investments.

“Any public limited sports company is obliged to sell players,” Mendes told O Jogo.

“If we look at it, 90% to 95% of European clubs sell players to balance their accounts. Even Real Madrid themselves had to do it last year. If we want to invest in training, in new players, we have to sell players.”

When asked specifically about Neves and Silva, Mendes said: “Benfica has to sell players. What you have to analyze at the right time is what the market offers players and then make a decision. That decision has not been made today.

‘But we are under pressure to sell because we have a capital situation that allows us to accumulate a loss, albeit a slight one.”

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