Benfica dominated the last day of the transfer market and entitled to a star: Julian Draxler. The name needs no introduction and the curriculum speaks for itself. He is world champion for the German national team (2014) and comes to Luz on loan from PSG, without a purchase option. The Reds pay 2.5 million in loan money and a percentage of the annual salary of seven million that the 28-year-old German international earns at the French club.
Draxler will wear the number 93 jersey and will become the fifth world champion to play in the Portuguese Championship, after Brazil’s Anderson Polga (Sporting, from 2003 to 2012), Spaniards Joan Capdevilla (Benfica, 2011-12) and Iker Casillas (FC Porto, from 2015 to 2020) and Frenchman Adil Rami (Boavista, 2020-21). “Benfica is a great club, with a great history. I needed playing time and this is the perfect club for me, to play good football and find myself,” said the attacking midfielder, revealing that he did not choose a jersey. number 10 “out of respect”, not least because the number was removed this season in memory of Fernando Chalana who died in August.
The German is the star of this market, but it is David Neres who takes the title of reinforcement who required the largest investment (15.3 million euros). The Reds are hiring two more double-digit reinforcements (Enzo Fernández and Fredrik Aursnes), for a total investment of around 60 million.
And they were entitled to a toast. Upon learning of Morato’s injury (he will be absent for eight weeks) and Vertonghen’s departure to Anderlecht (the market in Belgium only closes on Tuesdays and has therefore not yet been announced), Draxler’s manager Roger Wittmann, John Brooks, defender 1.93 meters to North American central defender, without a club after five years with Wolfsburg. Signed until the end of the season.
The door also opened to exits. Julian Weigl was loaned to Borussia Mönchengladbach. The midfielder shared a video of one of the moments with an eagle on his chest with a short message to Benfica fans. “Thank you Benfica. On the way to 38,” wrote Weigl, who was loaned out for a year without an option to buy. Meïté also parted ways with the Cremonese signing until the end of the season. The transfer of the medium was with an option to buy, but the value was not disclosed.
André Almeida and Rodrigo Pinho can be reinstated until they find a club in one of the markets that are still open – Mexico, Belgium, Turkey, Russia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – just like Taarabt, who was removed from the group by Schmidt , negotiates his departure.
However, the day started with Roger Schmidt saying during the press conference to preview the match with Vizela (Friday at 7pm BTV) that Ricardo Horta would not be a reinforcement. And it was at the end of the last day of the market that a goalkeeper arrived for FC Porto. Samuel Portugal left Portimonense and signed for the Dragons until 2027. “Contrary to what some newspapers reported, we bought 20% of the player’s sports rights for a million euros. We have a non-mandatory option, but we hope to exercise it, to increase percentages over time. buy, if we both understand, a sign that this is working,” Pinto da Costa revealed to O Jogo newspaper.
Sporting and Estoril managed to arrange the transfer of Arthur Gomes to Alvalade at the closing of the market. Interestingly, during the press conference to give a preview of the match between the Lions and the Canaries (Friday at 9:15 pm, Sport TV), Rúben Amorim declined to talk about what would be the last leonine reinforcement announced. Arthur signed until 2027. The deal can amount to four million euros.
344 reinforcements in 2022-23
It is no coincidence that Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, two of the coaches who buy the most and have the most money to make astronomical purchases, have praised Portuguese clubs’ art of discovering talent and making it profitable. This summer is a good example of that. according to website transfermarkt.com, the I and II League clubs hired 347 players for the 2022-23 season, for a total of 169.8 million, as opposed to the 431.3 million allocated with 304 departures. That is, sales nearly tripled.
For example, Benfica Darwin sold Núñez to Liverpool for 75 million euros, after buying him for around 24 million less than two years ago. The sale of the Uruguayan striker was one of the biggest deals in this summer market, with the eagles taking $121.3 million, a value second only to the 2019-20 market, when Luz club João Félix hit a historic lock sold of 240 million euros.
For Alvalade’s side, the departure resulted in a record turnover of 119.8 million euros, the result of two major sales. Matheus Nunes for 40 million for Wolverhampton and João Palhinha for Fulham for 20 million. Added to this was Nuno Mendes’ 38 million, after PSG activated the purchase option provided for in last season’s loan.
With almost €120 million in Sporting’s coffers, supporters may have expected a larger investment in the squad, but the club has bet on strengthening all sectors in a sustainable and balanced way, for a total of €41.9 million (including the three million paid for the loan from Francisco Trincao, who came from Barcelona). A value that exceeds the investment at the time of the title (35.4 million) and last year (21.5 million).
At Dragão, profit was lower: 85.5 million euros. The departures of Vitinha to PSG (41.5 million) and Fabio Vieira to Arsenal (35) helped the club solve financial problems and regularize UEFA’s financial fair play, but weakened the midfield. And since the investment (51) was blown up with the purchase of David Carmo (20 million), the balance was lower than other times. The signing of the 20-year-old central defender broke all records, being the biggest ever among I Liga clubs, placing Sp. Braga in good financial health.
The sale of David Carmo was the only way out of Braga’s squad, which thus kept the hard core – including Ricardo Horta, the big soap of this market, and spent only 4.5 million on reinforcements, especially Simon Banza, who went directly to the eleven and already noticed the first days.
Players without a club can still be registered, but for those who were not satisfied with this window, the market will open again in January.
Antony, the ace of the millions who joins Ronaldo
On an international level, England stands out where all doubts are over: Cristiano Ronaldo will remain at Manchester United, after a summer market in which he was on the world’s lips, over a perceived desire to leave the English club. Many suitors were pointed to the Portuguese star, who, after all, remains at Old Trafford. Soon, CR7’s promised statements about his delay in joining the team’s work and all the rumors surrounding him are to be expected.
That’s why Ronaldo is another star of United who has spent £238million, 95 of which was spent on Brazilian Antony, the true king of the millions as he played in the biggest transfer of this summer window. In fact, the 22-year-old winger has been one of Ajax’s biggest sources of income, bringing in a total of €216 million in player sales alone in the past two months. It should be noted that the Dutch club received some €152.3 million straight from Manchester United’s coffers, as Antony also joined defender Lisando Martínez, for €57.3 million.
The main job of closing the market was eventually carried out by Chelsea, who hired Gabonese striker Pierre Aubameyang from Barcelona for a fee of around €14 million, also adding Marcos Alonso, who went to the club.
Chelsea turned out to be the club that invested the most money in reinforcements, totaling 266.9 million euros, not counting Aubameyang’s budget, which has not yet been officially disclosed.
For the rest, the Premier League was by far the European league that spent the most money on transfers, totaling more than €2.1 billion, almost three times more than the Italian Serie A, the second most spending of the five biggest leagues . From Europe. In Italy, Juventus was the main promoter of the market, investing 102.4 million, of which 81 million in just two players: Bremer and Chiesa.
Interestingly, the French league exceeded 500 million euros, while in Spain and Germany this threshold was not met.
Source: El heraldo
