Bruno Lage? Rui Costa on ex-Benfica manager’s exit: Crucial mistake | OneFootball

In an interview with the NOW channel, Rui Costa was confronted with Bruno Lage's departure, and the President made a revelation about the former Benfica coach.

The departure of Bruno Lage from Benfica, which happened after the defeat against Qarabag, continues to be a topic of discussion. In an interview with the NOW channel, Rui Costa publicly denied that he committed to signing a document ensuring that the coach from Setúbal would not leave the club before the elections.

In the same space, where he issued a warning to José Mourinho, the President of Benfica ended up refuting what the former coach claimed had happened: "Bruno Lage had a conversation with me about this, he did not say that I had to sign the document. I will not sign any document with any coach stating that until day X of month Y I will not dismiss him or give him a raise. That is not part of football".

Subsequently, Rui Costa explained that the coach from Setúbal was aware of the contractual situation: "With all due respect to Bruno. This topic was immediately dismissed. Bruno understood. I am the president of Benfica. I cannot be signing contracts with coaches stating that until day X of month Y I will not terminate the contract".

When confronted if he ever implied that he would sign the document, the leader admitted: "No. I would have to be making a crucial and brutal mistake in terms of squad and coach management. And honestly, I have to say it was painful for me, as it always is, to have to dismiss a coach".

"The conversation of 'Bruno, we have to part ways here' was very hard for me. Personal relationships are one thing, but the mission I have as president of Benfica is another. I could never sign a document like that", Rui Costa added finally, in an interview with the NOW channel.

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