Exclusive: Young defender names Man City star that he ‘admires’ | OneFootball

Exclusive: Ricardo Neto reveals his admiration for Ruben Dias

For the first time since the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Portugal will enter a major tournament without Kepler ‘Pepe’ Laveran de Lima Ferreira in defense. With Pepe retiring following the 2024 Euros, Portugal’s new leader in defense won’t be the ex-Real Madrid center back, but instead Rúben dos Santos Gato Alves Dias.

Born on May 14, 1997, Dias rose through the ranks at Benfica’s academy before breaking into the first team and leading them to the 2018/19 Liga Portugal title. These stellar displays didn’t just see him become a regular in Portugal’s backline, but they also drew the attention of Premier League club Manchester City, who paid €68 million that could rise to €71.6 million with performance-related bonuses, with Nicolás Otamendi heading the other way for €15 million.

Dias enjoyed a seamless transition to life in England, offering composure, leadership and stability and helping City wrestle the title back from Liverpool’s grasps as well as win the EFL Cup. It’s these stellar displays which saw him the FWA Footballer of the Year for the 2020–21 season – becoming the first defender to win the award since Steve Nicol in the 1988–89 season – as well as Manchester City’s Player of the Season and the Premier League Player of the Season.

Photo IMAGO

Another title would follow in 2021/22, which saw Dias miss the final two months of the season with a hamstring problem. However, his greatest season came in 2022/23, with City winning their first-ever UEFA Champions League trophy and completing a continental treble.

He continued his sensational displays in 2023/24, helping the Cityzens claim an unprecedented fourth straight league title. Dias has not only proven essential as a leader in City and Portugal’s backline, but he’s also served as an inspiration for countless other young Portuguese defenders such as Ricardo Neto, who won the U-17 Euros and U-17 World Cup last year.

“I really admire Rubén Dias and his presence on the field,” stated Neto in an exclusive EPL Index interview. “The path he’s taken, it aligns with mine, taking into account that he also started his career at Benfica and completed all his training at Benfica. I greatly admire his leadership on the field, the way he asserts himself in the game, and the way he manages to play within the team and lift them up.”

However, it’s fair to say that Dias’ performances have taken a turn for the worse as of late. He struggled to cover himself in glory as City suffered one of the worst title defenses in recent history in 2024/25, while this season hasn’t proven much better. City’s struggles to hold onto possession has forced him into sticky situations, with Dias defending out wide far more often than he’d like and being faced to track speedy 1v1 demons.

He’s making far more basic mistakes in possession and isn’t quite imposing himself as well in physical duels. This, combined with the recent arrival of Marc Guéhi as well as the ascendance of Abdukodir Khusanov (not to mention the injured Joško Gvardiol) has meant that, for the first time in his City career, Dias is no longer an undisputed starter.

With his compatriot Bernardo Silva potentially on his way out, and with the future of Pep Guardiola still up in the air, Dias’s long-term situation at the Etihad is far from certain. At 28, he should be entering the prime of his career, but it’s clear that he’s missing a step from the start of his City career. Can he turn it around and get back to his best ahead of the World Cup?