Arsenal and Manchester United had officials at the Taça da Liga final on Saturday evening, as SL Benfica faced Sporting CP.
The final was played at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria and after a 1-1 draw it went to penalties. Benfica ending up winning 7-6 and rightfully celebrated like they’d just won the World Cup.
O Jogo and other Portuguese newspaper are reporting Arsenal, Manchester United and Barcelona are among those clubs to have had officials in attendance in Leiria.
There’s no confusion over why they were there, with O Jogo even referring to them as transfer ‘sharks’ and ‘spies’. Multiple Premier League clubs have been camped out in Portugal over the past week and perhaps the only surprise is there weren’t more there to join Arsenal and Manchester United.
There’s no clear indication regarding who each club were watching, but for Manchester United it’s a good bet Alvaro Carreras was on the agenda. The Red Devils have a €20m buyback clause for the fullback, and according to O Jogo he had a good – if not spectacular – performance, getting the assist for Benfica’s goal.
