Official! Benfica player with 188 games rejects new deal, leaves free | OneFootball

Benfica have officially announced the departure of Carole Costa, bringing to an end a six-season spell marked by titles. The most-capped player in the history of the Portuguese national team had been offered a contract renewal, but decided to take a different step in her career.

The 36-year-old centre-back sees her contract expire on June 30 and will now head in a new direction, leaving the Luz as one of the standout figures of the most successful era in the club’s women’s team history. As part of the captains’ group, Carole was one of six players involved in all six consecutive national league titles won by the club between 2020/21 and 2025/26.

She joined Benfica in 2020/21, after three seasons at Sporting and seven in German football, and the Braga-born player also won two Portuguese Cups, five League Cups and two Super Cups with the Eagles in a trophy-filled spell.

On an individual level, Carole Costa leaves with 188 official appearances and 35 goals scored. Last season, she even scored 10 goals in the league, finishing as the competition’s top scorer, level on goals with Braga’s Malu Schmidt.

In the farewell message released by the club, Benfica highlighted the player’s "strong competitive character and sporting ambition", underlining the impact she had in building a legacy that helped transform women’s football in Portugal. "Her professional link with Glorioso comes to an end, but a remarkable shared story remains," the club wrote, closing the tribute with a simple but meaningful: "Thank you, Carole!".

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