It’s no surprise to see Manchester United named on the list of clubs who sent scouts to the Europa League match between Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt last night.
With the Red Devils scouting most of the Eagles’ home games and being linked to a few of their players, their presence at the Estádio da Luz was more than expected.
Now with Benfica winning the game 4-2 with a hat trick from João Félix, who has been heavily linked to the Old Trafford side this year, we were ready to see something about it in today’s stories.
Newspaper Record writes that the 19-year-old has shone under the eyes of many scouts, including from Manchester United.
They call the clubs one of the ‘sharks’ circling for the youngster. They did the same a couple of months ago.
The Portuguese press had said a few times that the Premier League side would be ready to pay Félix’s €120m release clause.
At the end of February, Record reported United are prepared to activate the clause.
This time, United are mentioned among other interested clubs, while the only one put in a special position is Juventus.
Félix is now Benfica’s youngest player to score a hat-trick in an European game. His tears after scoring his third goal are mentioned everywhere, with Record writing ‘Félix even cried’ on their front page, and calling their match report ‘I’m Félix and I’m a genius’.
There’s another Benfica player who’s been linked to Manchester United lately, and that’s Ruben Dias. The Red Devils were also said to be ready to pay for his €60m release clause this year, although it doesn’t get a mention today.
Besides Félix’s three goals, the other one scored by Benfica came from Dias. So it was a quite good night for Solskjaer’s side to have a representative at the Estádio da Luz.
To underline how loved this footballer is becoming in Portugal, here’s a selection of today’s headlines:
Record Front page: Félix even cried
Headline: My name is Félix and I’m a genius
O Jogo Front page: Super Félix
A Bola Front Page: Crying for more
Headline: Prodigy Félix for Europe to see
Correio da Manhã Front Page: João Félix charms Europe
Headline: Félix’s night was crying for more
Jornal de Notícias Front Page: Félix carries Benfica
Headline: The Eagle flew high on the wings of João Félix
