Rui Costa has spoken. The president of Benfica, speaking at a press conference ahead of the match against Fulham, took the floor to announce a few moments ago the departure of John Neves to the PSG. A painful decision and not at all shared by the fans, but that the number one of the Portuguese club tried to explain in a transparent and direct way.
Confirmation of the farewell. “If João’s departure comes to fruition, which is practically done, but there are still bureaucratic things to resolve… but I understand the criticism because their bitterness is the same as mine. João’s departure does not please any member. As a member and president, I like it even less. I have to build teams. When you lose a player of this quality, a home player, with the charisma of Joaozino… it’s not just the members who are sad. I’ve known him since he was 10 years old,” Rui Costa said at first.
Moving on to the hard truth: “People must understand that together we are looking for the best solutions for both parties. We have postponed this transfer for a long time. We have clearly rejected the first offers, but we have reached certain figures, both for the club and for the player, which make this transfer inevitable. I reiterate the charisma of João Neves within the club, but a figure of 70 million euros cannot be refused by the club.”
Commenting: “Whoever pays this amount also realizes how much an athlete pays… it is difficult to give up these sums. João will also explain this. It is sad to see the best players leave – Rui Costa admitted -, but everyone accepts the fact that Portugal is a country that sells, but when it sells it hurts everyone. No transfer is made without the will of both parties”.