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Paris Saint-Germain have secured the signature of 19-year-old midfielder Joao Neves from Benfica for €70m.
Despite Manchester United showing significant interest and Benfica initially demanding Neves’ €120m release clause, the Portuguese club ultimately accepted PSG’s lower offer, confirming the transfer on Monday.
“It is a great pride for me to join Paris Saint-Germain, a very ambitious club, I will give everything to help my teammates, grow in this fantastic club and win many titles.” Neves said after signing a five-year contract.
PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi added: “We are delighted to welcome João Neves to the Paris Saint-Germain family. João is one of the most talented players in Portugal and the world. He joins Paris Saint-Germain with great passion and determination to fight for our jersey, which is what we expect from all our players. We continue to build a fantastic young team at Paris Saint-Germain – based on teamwork, talent and collective spirit – which is the foundation of our club’s great future.”
Benfica president Rui Costa admitted his disappointment at losing Neves but confirmed the fee on offer made it impossible to reject PSG’s approach. “I understand the fans’ criticism because their bitterness is mine,” Costa told A Bola. “I have to form squads and ensure that Benfica can win titles and when you lose a player of João’s quality, who was trained here, I feel even sadder about it. I’ve known him since he was 10 years old and it’s hard to see him leave. People have to understand that we postponed this transfer for a long time, we clearly rejected the first proposals, but we reached certain moments and numbers that made the transfer inevitable. Funds of €70m are not possible for the club to give up.”
While Manchester United missed out on Neves, the transfer could benefit them as they aim to acquire midfielder Manuel Ugarte from PSG.
Reports suggest PSG might consider loaning Ugarte if Neves’ transfer was finalized.
This article was updated 1 month ago