Benfica player on Otamendi: his presence is motivating | OneFootball

Florentino remains very attentive to Benfica. The midfielder, who is on loan at Burnley until the end of the season, was asked which player has the biggest influence in the dressing room through his leadership, and he did not hesitate in naming Nicolás Otamendi - who could move to River Plate.

"The player with the greatest presence, the biggest impact, and the one the team misses most when he is not there, I think, is Otamendi. I would say Otamendi, not only because of what he brings on the pitch, but also off it, because his mere presence gives motivation and makes us play at our limit", he told Sports Tailors on the Final Cut podcast.

The 26-year-old also spoke about Rafa Silva, describing the 2016 European champion as the hardest player to mark, alongside João Félix. "There were many good players, but perhaps the most difficult ones were Rafa Silva and João Félix, who were players I came up against more often in my area", he admitted.

Florentino has only positive things to say about his new experience in the Premier League. "The feeling I had when I stepped onto the pitch (for the first time in the Premier League) was that of a dream come true, of saying: "ok, I managed to get here". But that dream is still alive inside me, because now that I am here, I want to keep breaking barriers", he said.

This season, wearing the Burnley shirt, Florentino Luís - valued at 20 million euros - has made 26 appearances: 24 in the Premier League and two in the FA Cup. In the 1,766 minutes he has been on the pitch, the defensive midfielder has recorded two assists.

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