It’s July 1st, and Benfica are beginning their pre-season training.
They’re set to do so with a new face, reports Monday’s edition of O Jogo. Leandro Barreiro has rejected superior offers from clubs such as Everton in order to move to the Lisbon club.
The 24-year-old defensive midfielder is from Luxembourg, but O O Jogo say he’s a Benfica supporter, so when the Portuguese club moved in for him it was an easy decision to make.
He’s moving as a free agent, with his Mainz contract coming to an end, so that’s an added plus for Benfica.
According to the report, all of Galatasaray, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Marseille, Borussia Monchengladbach, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen made offers to the player.
A lot of the salary proposals were not only superior but ‘far superior’, so it shows Barreiro’s determination to sign for the Portuguese club.
Everton will have to look elsewhere for a good value defensive midfielder this summer.
