“Also a dream of mine” – Benfica’s rising star sees Ruben Dias as inspiration, Manchester City move and success the blueprint

Manchester City star Ruben Dias may be just 26-years-of-age, but it seems he’s already a reference for those who grow up at Benfica.

Something nice about the defender is today said by Eagles’ starlet João Neves, who featured in an interview with UEFA.

In quotes brought by O Jogo, the Benfica midfielder, who’s having a great season, was asked about the importance of seeing someone who played the Youth League at the club, such as Dias, succeeding in European football.

Neves claimed that the centre-back is someone to look up to, given all the achievements he had since joining Manchester City.

“My memories of players like Ruben Dias and others are few but remarkable, because I’ve been a ball boy while they were playing in the Youth League and the A team, I’ve been a ball boy at the Estádio da Luz and when I saw them there, they who had already passed the stage I was at at the time, it always gave me extra motivation,” said Neves.

“If they managed to get there, I’ll be able to get there too. It was always like that. They certainly worked hard to get to that level, I also wanted to follow in their footsteps and see them in great teams in Europe and winning many titles, like Ruben Dias, who has already won the Champions League, is also a dream of mine.”

Ruben Dias played for Benfica since he was a kid, and by the time he left for Manchester City, he already had 137 appearances for the Eagles.

Pep Guardiola’s side spent over €70m to sign him in 2020, and despite the high investment, it seems that was well worth it. Now with Neves being one of the biggest talents coming out of Portugal in recent years, perhaps Dias’ successful path could attract the midfielder to Manchester City.