Rui Costa is confident: “Benfica has the most valuable squad”

The Eagles president said on BTV that all contracts will not begin to be paid until next season. Between outflows and inflows, SAD had a negative balance of €4.25 million. Individually, Rui Costa admitted that Jurasek did not have “the impact that was expected.” He also suggested that Bernat and Ba’s injuries caused a lot of problems for Roger Schmidt. Regarding Orsnes’ adaptation, the Red leader gave high praise: “He’s our joker. In my opinion, he has been the best right-back in Portugal this year with goals and assists.” The signing of Marcos Leonardo was a necessity: “It happened because we didn’t have enough goals and we only managed to sign him because Santos dropped out of the division.”

Rafa and Di Maria are out of contract at the end of the year, but the Eagles leader chose to praise the “millions” they both gave up to play for Benfica. “We’ll see where it goes at the end of the season, there’s no point in predicting scenarios,” he said, praising Schmidt: “A coach who’s not afraid to bet on youth.”

Finally, the Benfica president praised Rui Pedro Braza for his actions in the market and expressed emotional recognition to Sven Göran-Eriksson, the former Benfica coach who has serious health problems.

High risk game
On Friday, the public security police left a set of instructions for everyone who will go to the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques to watch the Guimarães-Benfica match. As this is a “high risk” game, PSP encourages fans to arrive at the stadium early. At the same time, he advises avoiding transporting valuables and storing items inside vehicles. And he urges them to “not accept behavior that breeds violence.”