Joao Neves becomes Benfica’s sixth biggest sale of all time

The fixed €59.9 million paid by Paris Saint-Germain to Benfica for Joao Neves on Monday made the youngster the sixth-biggest sale in the Reds’ history, just a year after the fifth-biggest deal.

The 19-year-old midfielder, whose transfer value could reach 69.9 million euros, has come very close to entering the top 5, which was closed last year by striker Goncalo Ramos, who also moved to the Parisian club for 65 million euros, if certain goals are achieved.

Moreover, of Benfica’s top six deals of all time, three have been completed in the last year and a half, with Argentine Enso Fernandez topping the list in January 2023, leaving for €121 million to English side Chelsea after just half a season in Portugal.

The second most expensive player in history remains Joao Felix, another Benfica player, for whom Atletico Madrid paid €120 million in 2019, while Uruguayan Darwin Nunez completes the podium, compared to a fixed €75 million paid to Liverpool in 2022.

In fourth place is another product of Benfica’s schools, namely central defender Ruben Dias, who joined Manchester City at the start of the 2020/21 season for €68 million.

At the Citizens, the defender is a teammate of the Eagles’ other top-selling player, Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson, who cost €40 million in 2017 – the same amount that Russian side Zenit St Petersburg paid for Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel in 2012.

Mexican striker Raul Jimenez is not only the third most expensive signing in Benfica’s history (€21.8 million), but also one of the Reds’ biggest earners, having permanently moved to English club Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2019 for €38 million (a sum that does not include the previous season’s loan fee).

Rounding out the top 10 are two players who came through the Luz formation and also established themselves in the first team before being transferred for €35 million: Swedish defender Victor Lindelof, who signed for Manchester United in 2017, and Portuguese international midfielder Renato Sanches, who joined the Germans from Bayern Munich a year earlier in 2016.

Sanchez is even preparing to return to his hometown eight years later, as all indications are that PSG will loan him out to Benfica before the transfer is formalised. The midfielder was even part of the Benfica delegation that travelled to the Algarve on Friday for a pre-season game against English side Fulham.