Otamendi made history for Benfica against Tondela, but 7 still ahead of him | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi reached 250 games with the Sacred Mantle at Benfica – Tondela, which ended with a 3-0 victory. The Eagles' captain is, thus, the eighth foreign player with the most matches played for the Clube da Luz. However, the Argentine international is not expected to stop here and could climb a few more places during this season.

At the top of this ranking is Luisão, who played 538 matches for Benfica. Moreover, the former footballer, who was an executive for the Reds for several years, is a clear leader, having a lead of over 200 games ahead of the second place, Maxi Pereira, with 333.

Following are names well-known to Benfica fans, namely Grimaldo (303), Cardozo (293), Jardel (285), Salvio (266), Gaitán (253) and… Nicolás Otamendi, with 250. It is, therefore, very likely that during the current season, the Argentine international will climb a few more places.

Closing this list is goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos, with 225 matches for Benfica, and Ángel Di María, with 217 games. Interestingly, in the top 10, there are four Argentinians, clearly illustrating the excellent relationship of the Clube da Luz with athletes from that South American country.

In the 2025/26 season, only with Benfica's jersey, Nicolás Otamendi – valued at 1 million euros – has played 18 matches and scored two goals, totaling 1,620 minutes: nine in the Liga Portugal Betclic, seven in the Champions League, one in the League Cup, and one in the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup.

Check out the 10 foreign players with the most games for Benfica:

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