Son blasts Rui Costa: “Florentino Pérez chose Benfica’s next boss” | OneFootball

José Mourinho’s departure for Real Madrid and the subsequent appointment of Marco Silva continue to spark reactions in the Benfica world. This time, it was Laurindo Filho, coach of Feirense’s women’s team, who delivered harsh criticism of Rui Costa’s management, arguing that Benfica have lost the ability to control their own sporting destiny.

In the coach’s view, the succession in charge of the Eagles ended up depending on external factors, namely Florentino Pérez’s decision to move forward with the signing of José Mourinho. For Laurindo Filho, this situation shows a lack of planning and autonomy on the part of Benfica’s hierarchy.

“The giant of Luz is no longer master of its own destiny. It has become at the mercy of a set of factors it could never control and over which it could have little or no influence,” he told the newspaper 'A Bola', arguing that the process revealed signs of amateurism in the handling of the coaching file.

In his view, Florentino Pérez played a decisive role in shaping the technical future of Benfica: “The man who chose Benfica’s next coach was Florentino Pérez. The one who decided who will lead Benfica’s technical staff was the president of Real Madrid,” Laurindo Filho said, in direct criticism of Rui Costa’s leadership.

With José Mourinho’s departure, Benfica should receive around €15 million, the amount corresponding to the Portuguese coach’s release clause. That sum will help finance the new phase led by Marco Silva, who is already working alongside Benfica’s hierarchy in preparing for the 2026/27 season, including defining priorities for the transfer market.

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