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

José Mourinho may see one of his wishes come true as early as the next transfer window, with Benzema possibly heading to Benfica.

All three parties are open to Benzema strengthening Benfica as early as the January 2026 transfer window. The French striker, a former Ballon d'Or winner, is a target of José Mourinho, the Eagles' coach, to join the team in the winter market.

This information comes from journalist Rudy Galetti, of TEAMtalk. The journalist, who specializes in the transfer window, reports that José Mourinho is indeed interested in a meeting with Benzema, after the two had already crossed paths at Real Madrid.

For his part, Karim Benzema looks favorably on a return to European football. The French striker's contract ends in June 2026, and the latest information suggests he may not want to renew, 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 winner in January, so as not to lose the player for free at the end of the 2025/26 season. Therefore, the asking price is not high, and the Saudi club could accept the departure of the French international for something like seven or eight million euros.

Karim Benzema would even be willing to considerably lower his salary to return to Europe, and to a possible reunion with José Mourinho. Benfica, in turn, is evaluating the situation, with the election period making this decision more complicated. The Eagles also have Pavlidis performing well, and spent over 20 million euros in the summer on Franjo Ivanovic's transfer.

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