Benfica star hits milestone, but still trails in Luisão’s footsteps | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi reached an important milestone in Benfica - Tondela. The captain of the Eagles, who scored one of the goals in the 3-0 victory, reached 250 matches with the Sacred Mantle. However, the Eagles' star is still far from Luisão, former footballer and director of the Clube da Luz.

Nicolás Otamendi reached 250 games with the Sacred Mantle in Benfica – Tondela, which ended with a 3-0 win. The captain of the Eagles is, therefore, the eighth foreigner with the most matches played for the Clube da Luz. However, the Argentine international is not expected to stop here and may climb a few more places during this season.

At the top of this ranking is Luisão, who played 538 matches for Benfica. Furthermore, the former footballer, who was a director of the Eagles for several years, is a prominent leader, having a lead of more than 200 games over the second-placed Maxi Pereira, with 333.

Following are names well known to Benfica fans, namely Grimaldo (303), Cardozo (293), Jardel (285), Salvio (266), Gaitán (253), and… Nicolás Otamendi, with 250. Thus, it is very likely that during the current season, the Argentine international will climb a few more places.

Closing this list is goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos, with 225 matches for Benfica, and Ángel Di María, with 217 games. Interestingly, in the top-10, there are four Argentinians, illustrating well the excellent relationship of the Clube da Luz with athletes from that South American country.

In the 2025/26 season, only with Benfica's jersey, Nicolás Otamendi – valued at 1 million euros – has played 18 matches and scored two goals, totaling 1,620 minutes: nine in Liga Portugal Betclic, seven in the Champions League, one in the League Cup, and one in the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.