Benfica have become masters of the market by shrewdly reinvesting the money made from cashing in on potential superstars
Benfica are one of the 'Big Three' in Portugal, along with Porto and Sporting CP.
The Eagles have won a record 37 Portuguese league titles, along with 26 Taca de Portugal trophies – also a record. Benfica have also won back-to-back European Cups, in 1961 and 1962.
Over the years, many big names have played for the Eagles, including the likes of Eusebio, Mario Coluna, Luisao, Angel Di Maria, Nuno Gomes, Ruben Dias and David Luiz.
In the 21st century, Benfica has produced plenty of players who have gone on to make big-money moves to elite European clubs such as Joao Felix, Renato Sanches, Jan Oblak and Victor Lindelof.
Indeed, Benfica have raked in over €1 billion (£840m/$1.01bn) in transfer sales since the turn of the century.
The latest big-money export from Lisbon were Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez, who joined Liverpool for a whopping €80 million (£68m/$87m) and World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez, who made his way to Chelsea for an even more impressive €121m.
Benfica biggest transfer sales by season
Season
Biggest sale
Fee
Total sales
2022-23
Enzo Fernandez
€121m
€262m
2021-22
Pedrinho
€18m
€49.5m
2020-21
Ruben Dias
€68m
€76.5m
2019-20
Joao Felix
€127m
€240m
2018-19
Talisca
€19m
€73.3m
2017-18
Ederson
€40m
€132.7m
2016-17
Renato Sanches
€35m
€121.3m
2015-16
Rodrigo
€30m
€104.3m
2014-15
Enzo Perez
€25m
€104.6m
2013-14
Nemanja Matic
€25m
€45.7m
2012-13
Axel Witsel
€40m
€75.7m
2011-12
Fabio Coentrao
€30m
€41.2m
2010-11
Angel Di Maria
€33m
€85.7m
2009-10
Konstantinos Katsouranis
€3.5m
€6.8m
2008-09
Nelson
€6m
€7.6m
2007-08
Simao
€20m
€55.7m
2006-07
Ricardo Rocha
€5m
€11.3m
2005-06
Miguel
€8m
€9.8m
2004-05
Tiago Mendes
€15m
€18.4m
2003-04
Ednilson
€130k (loan fee)
€130k
2002-03
Marco Caneira
€1.5m
€1.50m
2001-02
Fernando Meira
€7.5m
€21.3m
2000-01
Nuno Gomes
€17m
€19.4m
Total
€1.56b (Approx)
Benfica top 10 most expensive salesGetty ImagesRenato Sanches | €35m | Bayern Munich | 2016
A Benfica youth product, Renato Sanches seemed set to conquer European football at one point. He was promoted to the senior team at Benfica in the 2015-16 season. But one season was all the youngster, then 18 years old, needed to make the continent's biggest clubs take notice.
The energetic midfielder was heavily linked with Manchester United but ultimately opted to join Bayern Munich in the summer of 2016 for €35m – the highest fee at the time for a Portuguese player in the Primeira Liga.
He would go on to help Portugal win Euro 2016 before being awarded the Golden Boy trophy a few months later. Sanches' career never took off at Bayern but he has got back to something like his best at Lille and is now expected to get another shot at one of Europe's biggest clubs.
AdvertisementGettyVictor Lindelof | €35m | Manchester United | 2017
Lindelof was roped in by Benfica at a tender age of 17 in the summer of 2012. After initially proving himself in Benfica's reserve team, the Swedish centre-back was promoted to the senior squad and never looked back.
He was one of the mainstays at Benfica in the 2016-17 season, making 47 appearances in all competitions. He was linked with a several Premier League clubs through the season and, in the summer of 2017, Manchester United swooped in and secured his services.
Nelson Semedo | €35.7m | Barcelona | 2017
Semedo is another Portuguese star who made a name for himself at Benfica.
Having joined the Eagles from boyhood club Sintrense in 2012, the right-back established himself at the Estadio da Luz after a few seasons in the reserves and a loan spell.
He enjoyed a breakout season in 2016-17, with his imaginative play down the flank attracting the attention of numerous big clubs.
It was Barcelona who eventually snapped him up in the summer of 2017. Semedo spent three seasons at Camp Nou before joining Wolves in 2020.
Getty ImagesRaul Jimenez | €38m | Wolves | 2019
Wolves' Raul Jimenez is currently a dependable striker in the Premier League but he made his bones at Benfica.
The Mexican had come through Club America's youth system before signing for Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in 2014. But a disappointing season that saw him score just the one goal meant he ended up leaving the club for Benfica.
In three seasons in Lisbons, Jimenez scored 31 goals in 120 appearances and, ahead of the 2018-19 season, Wolves secured Jimenez on a loan with the option to buy for €38m.
After Jimenez's good start to life in England, Wolves decided to activate the clause and sign him permanently in April 2019.