Otamendi flying high! Benfica captain breaks Real Madrid legend’s record | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi’s goal in Benfica – Arouca was historic. While the Estádio da Luz, with the game already decided, was focused on the results of the club’s elections, the Eagles’ captain closed the score, netted his first goal of the season, and surpassed a historic record held by… Ángel Di María.

At 37 years and 256 days old, Nicolás Otamendi became the oldest player to score a goal for Benfica. The record previously belonged to Ángel Di María, who left the Estádio da Luz last season after returning to the Eagles following stints with clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, and Juventus.

In the Club World Cup, at 37 years and 134 days old, Ángel Di María scored the equalizer against Chelsea in the round of 16, which sent the match into extra time. Now, Nicolás Otamendi has surpassed his compatriot’s record, who, interestingly, was one of his closest teammates at Benfica.

However, Nicolás Otamendi’s historic records – who made headlines recently – do not end here. The Benfica captain is on the verge of reaching 250 appearances wearing the Sacred Mantle. If this does not happen next Wednesday, against Tondela in the League Cup, it will be in the away match against Vitória de Guimarães, on Matchday 10 of Liga Portugal Betclic.

In the 2025/26 season, solely with 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.

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