When the Italian press reported Manchester City’s interest in the Benfica midfileder Florentino yesterday, we knew the Portuguese media would soon be following suit.
All the Tuesday newspapers have articles on the chase today, most of them just repeating the claims which said Pep Guardiola wants the player to replace Fernandinho in his squad.
Now outlet A Bola brings an interesting angle on the situation, claiming that Benfica’s intention is actually to give Florentino a new contract with the club.
They recall that the 19-year-old signed his current contract in October 2018, when he wasn’t even in the Eagles’ first team squad. At that time, he signed a deal until 2023 with a €60m release clause.
Now that Florentino has been promoted to the first team, and has nine appearances for the Eagles this season, the club’s intention would be to extend his deal to 2024 and double his release clause to €120m.
This extension would be granted exactly to avoid approaches from other clubs, since Benfica know how good Florentino has been. That means they’re prepared to play hard with Manchester City in case they come for him.
