This weekend, Sunderland announced the signing of Benfica youngster Luis Semedo. Since his contract with the Eagles was about to expire, he initially joined the Black Cats on a free move.
It turns out that as Portuguese newspaper O Jogo today writes about this transfer, they bring some interesting details on how that was worked out between the clubs.
It’s said that even though Semedo could literally leave for free, Benfica are actually getting 10% of a transfer once he leaves Sunderland in the future.
The reason for that is that both Semedo and the Championship side wanted to keep their good relationship with the Lisbon club.
O Jogo claims the forward wanted a ‘clear exit’, as well as Sunderland, who chose to maintain their ‘good existing relationship’ with Benfica.
The Black Cats were apparently also interested in paying for the training rights in instalments, and with this act of generosity, they apparently managed to get what they wanted.Semedo had been part of Benfica’s B squad, where he played in the UEFA Youth League, and never made his debut for the first team. So he shall start his professional career in England with Sunderland.
