In a long interview with SL Benfica’s official channel, Lisbon president Rui Costa spoke about the transfer of João Neves to PSG during the last summer transfer window. A transfer that angered the Portuguese club’s supporters, disappointed that their club was unable to retain a young player trained at the club.
While SL Benfica lost its Portuguese championship title last season and dismissed its German coach Roger Schmidt at the end of August, the president of the Lisbon club Rui Costa gave a long interview to the official channel of Benfica to discuss the news of his club and in particular the transfer of João Neves to PSG.
A transfer that disappointed the supporters of his club, but which was inevitable according to the Portuguese leader: “We are talking about a charismatic player and it is always painful to lose a player like that. We rejected offers earlier and at lower levels, and we kept raising the stakes. The first offers were unacceptable, but the inevitable was achieved. João did not want to leave, but there are figures that cannot be refused, both for the player and for the club.”
“The transfer price of João Neves is extremely high in the current market”
When he left Benfica, João Neves had already explained that he had never asked to leave this summer, but also that he was very happy to join an ambitious club like PSG. Rui Costa then wanted to justify his sale price, considered too low by some Benfica supporters: “The sale price of €60 million, which could and will reach €70 million, was considered too low by some. First of all, when it comes to quality, charisma and a player who has been trained at the club, we all think that it is priceless. But you have to look at the market and see how it works.”
For Rui Costa, in the current market, selling João Neves for €60 million plus €10 million in bonuses is a success, even though he had a release clause set at €120 million: “The market was the lowest since 2016, there was no transfer over 100 million. It’s not about breaking records, the most expensive was a World Cup-winning striker for 75 million euros (Julian Alvarez to Atlético, editor’s note). At the moment, the market is tending to go down, I hope that this will not be confirmed in the future but it is a reality. João’s transfer is in the top 5 of this market and if it reaches 70 million euros, he will be the second. This price is extremely high in the current market. It always hurts to see one of our boys leave, but we couldn’t say no.”
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