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One of the biggest names when talking about Portugues football, SL Benfica has a rich footballing tradition with a 115-year old history.
The most successful club in the history of Portuguese football with 36 Primeira Liga (record), 26 Taca de Portugal (record), 7 Taca da Liga (record), 7 Supertaca Candido de Oliveira and 2 European Cups, Benfica are now far from the European powerhouse they once used to be.
The financial constrictions have seen the Portuguese club being relegated to more of a selling club. This method though has reaped big riches, with Benfica receiving over £200 million profit from developing and selling their precious talents to foreign clubs.
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Given below are the list of players sold by Benfica in the last decade that has resulted in Portuguese club making over £200 million profits.
#1 Ederson Moraes - £35m
The Brazilian joined SL Benfica youth Academy in 2009, aged 16, spending 2 years with the youth teams before moving away from the club to join second division Ribeirao in 2011. Ederson was so impressive with Ribeirao that Rio Ave came calling the very next season. 4 seasons later Ederson was back where he started, joining SL Benfica in 2015 for a fee of just €500,000.
Ederson spent just two seasons with Benfica before moving to his present club Manchester City in 2017. The Brazilian made 56 appearances for Benfica, winning 2 Premier Liga, 1 Taca de Portugal, and 1 Taca de Liga in his 2 seasons for the club.
The 2017/18 season saw Pep Guardiola coming for the Brazilian as Ederson made the move across the English channel to join Manchester City for £35 million.
#2 Axel Witsel - £32m
The Borussia Dortmund midfield metronome was once a part of the Portuguese giant. The Belgian joined Benfica from the Belgian powerhouses Standard Liege.
Axel Witsel spent 5 years with his boyhood club in Belgium before making the move to Portugal to join Benfica for a reported fee of €9 million on a 5-year contract with a buyout clause of £32 million. The Belgian spent just one season with the Portuguese club before Zenit Saint Petersburg paid the buyout clause to snatch the Belgian midfielder.
In his only season with the Benfica, Axel Witsel made 49 appearances and scored 5 times for the club and won the Taca da Liga.
#3 Victor Lindelof - £30m
From being labelled the worst signing to being the most improved player in the team, Victor Lindelof has had a tough start to his Manchester United career. The Swedish international though earned his name during his time with Benfica.
Like Ederson, Lindelof joined Benfica at a very early age from his native club Vasteras SK for a very cheap price of €100,000. The Swedish international made his way through the Benfica B side before making his debut for the first team squad.
Victor Lindelof found it difficult to break into the Benfica first team at first before eventually becoming a first-team player in his second last season with the club. The Swedish international made 73 appearances and scored 2 times for the Portuguese club, winning 3 Primeira Liga, 2 Taca de Portugal, 1 Taca da Liga, and 1 Supertaca Candido de Oliveira during his time.
Victor Lindelof made the move to Manchester United in 2017 for a reported fee of £30 million
#4 Renato Sanches - £27.5m
The 2016 Golden Boy winner, Renato Sanches is one of the brightest talents to emerge from the Benfica Academy in recent times, joining the Academy at the very early age of 8.
The midfielder made his professional debut in the 2014-15 season with the Benfica B team in the second division but had to wait a year for the call up from the senior team. The debut finally came in the 2015/16 season as Sanches started against Feirense in the Primera Liga.
The young Renato Sanches became the costliest Portuguese player to leave the domestic league after agreeing to a £27.5 million move to Munich.
In his only season with the first team, Sanches made 35 appearances and scored 2 goals while winning the Primeira Liga and the Taca da Liga. The same year saw Renato Sanches winning the 2016 European Champions Trophy as well as the Young Player of the Tournament while also becoming the youngest Portuguese player to play in an international tournament as well win in UEFA European Cup final.
#5 Fabio Coentrao - £27m
From being a Champions League winner with Real Madrid to being on the fringes of the Rio Ave, Fabio Coentrao has had a topsy turvy career so far.
Fabio Coentrao joined Benfica in 2007 from boyhood club Rio Ave for a reported fee of just €900,000. The full-back though was sent out on loan to due to lack of opportunities to C.D Nacional before spending the next season on loan to Real Zaragoza.
The Portuguese international became a starter at the club in 2009-10 season after spending 2 seasons out on loan. Fabio Coentrao just spent one more season with the club before moving Real Madrid in 2011, after impressive performances with the Aguias, for a reported fee of £27 million.
Fabio Coentrao made 97 appearances and scored 8 goals for Benfica, winning 2 Taca da Liga and 1 Primeira Liga with the club during the time.
#6 Rodrigo - £26m
The lynchpin of the Valencian attack garnered his name during his tenure with Benfica. The Spanish international started his career with the reserves of Real Madrid and moved to the Portuguese side in 2011 for a reported fee of €6 million after failing to break into the Real Madrid first team squad.
The first season with Benfica saw the Brazilian born Spanish striker being sent out on loan to English club Bolton Wanderers. It was in the second season that the Spanish striker was given his Portuguese debut as Rodrigo scored 16 goals in 38 appearances in his first season in Portugal.
Rodrigo spent two more seasons with Benfica before moving on loan to Valencia in the 2014-15 season. The loan moved proved to be vital for the Spaniard as Valencia signed the striker on a permanent basis for a reported fee of £26 million.
Rodrigo made a total of 120 appearances for Benfica and scored 45 times for them, winning 1 Taca da Liga along with the domestic treble in the 2013-14 season while twice finishing as the runners up in the UEFA Europa League.
#7 Goncalo Guedes
The winger who lit the La Liga last season with some mesmerizing performances for Valencia was, in fact, a product of the famous Benfica Academy.
Goncalo Guedes joined the Academy at the age of 8, moving through the ranks of the youth system before making his professional debut for the Benfica B side in 2014. 6 months later the teenager was given his debut for the senior side, coming on in injury time for a league match. The winger became of regular of sorts in the next season as he became the youngest Portuguese player to score in the Champions League with a goal against Atletico Madrid in 2015, aged 18.
Guedes impressive performances with the Portuguese side earned him a made to Paris Saint Germain the next year as the French giants paid £22 million in the January transfer window of 2016/17 season to buy the winger.
Goncalo Guedes made 68 appearances for Benfica scoring 11 goals and winning the Primera Liga 3 times, Taca da Liga twice, Taca de Portugal and Supertaca Candido de Oliveira once.
#8 David Luiz - £21m
Though David Luiz entry into European football was through Vitoria, it was with Benfica that Luiz started turning heads. The Brazilian joined Benfica in 2007 initially on loan before making his move permanent at the end of the season for a reported fee of €1.5 million.
The first couple of seasons was spent on the fringes before breaking into the first team in the 2009/10 season. David Luiz made a staggering 49 appearances for Benfica that season, winning League title for the first time in 5 years while also bagging the Portuguese player of the Year Award ahead of Angel Di Maria.
The impressive performance in the Primera Liga was followed by a £21 million move to London as Chelsea signed the Brazilian international in the January transfer window of the next season.
David Luiz in total made 132 appearances for the Portugues giants, scoring 6 goals and winning 3 Taca da Liga along with a single Primeira Liga.
#9 Nemanja Matic - £21m
The man who was included as a part of the deal that saw David Luiz moving to Chelsea. Unlike the other names on the list, Nemanja Matic made the move from a bigger club to the smaller one.
Matic joined Chelsea in 2009 from Slovak side Kosice. The Serbian found it hard to break into the Chelsea lineup and was sent out on loan the next season. The next season saw the Serbian being included in a deal to bring David Luiz to Chelsea.
The Serbian breakthrough came in Benfica as then Benfica manager Jorge Jesus made the decision to convert Matic from a playmaker to a defensive midfielder. This shrewd move proved to be a masterpiece as Matic excelled in his newly found position.
Nemanja Matic played an integral role in Benfica winning the Primeira Liga for the first time in 3 years in the 2013/14 season. The impressive performances from the Serb did not go unnoticed as former employers Chelsea came calling for Matic, signing the Serbian for a fee of £21 million.
Nemanja Matic made 99 appearances for Benfica and scored 9 times for the club while winning the Primeira Liga and the Taca da Liga in his 2 and a half year long stay in Portugal.
#10 Angel Di Maria - £21m
From being a Champions League winner and a World Cup Finalists to Manchester United flop and later to a resurgence at Paris Saint Germain, Angel Di Maria has experienced everything.
Angel Di Maria joined Benfica from Argentine side Rosario Central in 2007 for a reported fee of €8 million after some impressive performances in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and in his stint with Rosario Central.
Nicknamed the "Noodle", Argentine seamlessly blended with the Benfica first team, easing into the starting lineup of the club. The Argentine spent 3 seasons with the Portuguese giants before Los Blancos came calling for the winger in 2010 for a reported fee of £21 million.
Angel Di Maria made a total of 124 appearances for the Portuguese giants and scored 15 times. He also won the Primeira Liga and 2 Taca da Liga with the club.
