José Mourinho upbeat about hopes of bringing Benzema to Benfica | OneFootball

There is an opening from all three parties for Benzema to strengthen Benfica as early as the January 2026 transfer window. The French forward, former Ballon d'Or winner, is a desire of José Mourinho, the red coach, to head to the eagles in the winter market.

The information is brought forward by journalist Rudy Galetti, from TEAMtalk. The journalist specialized in the transfer window reports that José Mourinho is indeed interested in a meeting with Benzema, after the two have already crossed paths at Real Madrid.

In turn, Karim Benzema is open to a return to European football. The Gallic striker ends his contract in June 2026, and the latest information points to the possibility of not wanting to renew the bond, in order to return to the old continent, and compete again in the Champions League.

In this sense, Al Ittihad is open to selling the former Ballon d'Or in January, so as not to lose the player for free at the end of the 2025/26 season. Therefore, the asking prices are not high, and the Saudi emblem could accept the departure of the French international for something like seven or eight million euros.

Karim Benzema would even be willing to significantly reduce his salary to return to Europe, and a possible meeting with José Mourinho. Benfica, in turn, is evaluating the situation, with the election period making this reflection more complicated. The eagles also have Pavlidis in good shape, and spent, in the summer, more than 20 million euros on the pass of Franjo Ivanovic.

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