There’s bad news coming from Portugal for those who hoped to see Victor Lindelof moving to Manchester United at the end of the season.
Heavily linked to José Mourinho’s side in the past two transfer windows, the player has recently renewed his contract with Benfica, this time with a €60m release clause.
And although many outlets claimed Benfica and Manchester United would have a deal for Lindelof to move this summer, Diário de Notícias believe the opposite.
They say the Portuguese side’s plan is to keep the defender for one more year. The decision was made between the club’s board and manager Rui Vitória.
As long as they don’t receive an offer they can’t refuse, the club would rather make money by selling other stars such as Ederson or Nelson Semedo.
Lindelof and his girlfriend Maja Nilsson are said to be well adapted to Lisbon, especially after his last pay rise, and wouldn’t mind staying in the city for one more year.
Benfica would also want to use the 2018 World Cup to showcase the player, in case Sweden qualify.
This could be all part of a ploy to insinuate Manchester United must pay Lindelof’s €60m fee, but in reality the Premier League club have never seem quite as interested as Benfica have wanted them to be.
