Nicolás Otamendi has already made his mind up about his Benfica future | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi will leave Benfica at the end of the current season. According to reports from Argentina, the captain of the Eagles, now 37 years old, wants to join River Plate after participating in the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, and does not intend to renew his contract.

In the preview of the match against Tondela, José Mourinho was asked about Nicolás Otamendi’s future at Benfica. The Eagles’ coach ended up sidestepping questions regarding a possible contract renewal and highlighted the attitude of the Argentine international at 37 years old.

“One thing is your actual age, and another is what we see on the pitch and in training. There are 20-year-olds who are ‘old’ and there are ‘old men’ of 38 or 40 who are young. Nico is young. I said to him: ‘We have Guimarães and Leverkusen, what do we do tomorrow?’ He replied: ‘We have Guimarães, Leverkusen, and Tondela.’ He is a hugely important player for us. He plays,” said José Mourinho, when asked about Nicolás Otamendi’s future.

In the 2025/26 season, playing only for Benfica, Nicolás Otamendi – valued at 1 million euros – has played 17 matches and scored one goal, totaling 1,530 minutes: nine in Liga Portugal Betclic, seven in the Champions League, and one in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

Benfica vs. Tondela is scheduled for next Wednesday, October 29, at 8:45 pm, at Estádio da Luz. The match is part of the quarter-finals of the League Cup and José Mourinho’s team aims to defend the title won last season, in a final against Sporting decided by penalty shootout.

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