Rui Costa eyes Xavi and Iraola for Benfica job | OneFootball

Sporting director Rui Costa is assessing options for the Portuguese club’s bench. Andoni Iraola, Thiago Motta and Xavi Hernández are among the Lisbon institution’s top priorities, while Marco Silva has formally offered himself for the role.

With José Mourinho’s departure to Real Madrid virtually sealed for the end of the season, the sporting department led by Rui Costa is already working on possible replacements. According to Record, three names are on the Portuguese club’s radar: Andoni Iraola, who will bring his spell at Bournemouth to an end when the campaign finishes, and Xavi Hernández and Thiago Motta, two top-level coaches who are currently unattached and available.

Iraola is the breakout candidate of the moment. The 43-year-old Spanish coach will leave Bournemouth despite having had a good Premier League season and recently being linked with destinations such as Bayer Leverkusen. His profile as a modern coach and his performances in England make him an attractive option for the Portuguese project.

Xavi and Motta offer one operational advantage: they are available immediately. The former Barcelona manager left the club in 2024 after three seasons in which he won a league title, and has been waiting for his next opportunity ever since. Motta, meanwhile, had an early exit from Juventus after a strong previous spell at Bologna. Both have experience in demanding projects and know high-level European football well.

In addition to the three candidates currently high on the Eagles’ agenda, there is one coach who has already made the first move. Marco Silva, Fulham’s manager whose contract expires in June, has reportedly offered himself to the Lisbon club, according to A Bola. The Portuguese coach, who knows English football well and has experience at several European clubs, did not wait to be called and sounded out the possibility of returning to his country.

Mourinho was the architect of the team’s qualification for next season’s Champions League, and his departure leaves a difficult void to fill. Rui Costa has several options on the table, and the coming weeks will be key in deciding the future of the Da Luz dugout.

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