What if Benfica had retained their best players?

Full-Backs

Fabio Coentrao

Although he hasn't exactly had a fulfilling career at Real Madrid, Fabio Coentrao did have a great start at the Santiago Bernabeu. But his story started at Benfica when he was just 19.

He was initially loaned to a couple of clubs but cemented his place in the squad for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons, playing 90 games across both campaigns - all by the age of 22.

The left-back soon became one of the club's prized assets and they squeezed Real Madrid for every penny, who eventually got their man for €30m.

Nelson Semedo

At right-back is Barcelona's 2017 summer signing Nelson Semedo. Born in Lisbon, Semedo first made a name for himself in the Benfica B side that played in the Segunda Liga.

It wasn't long before he was promoted to the senior team after the departure of Maxi Pereira to rivals Porto. Although a knee injury saw him sidelined for a few months, the 2016/17 season saw him make 46 appearances for Benfica as they won a domestic double.

Although a defender, he is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and is quite a good passer of the ball - which probably explains why Barcelona paid €30m to secure his services when they desperately needed a right-back.