Rodrigo Zalazar? António Salvador has a rocky history with Benfica | OneFootball

Benfica have faced major difficulties in negotiations with Braga, led by António Salvador, who is known for his firmness in transfer talks. In recent years, only the transfer of Bruma, in January 2025, broke the pattern, with the Eagles securing the winger for €6.5 million, in a discreet process without major obstacles.

Things were very different in other Benfica moves for the Minho club. One of the most high-profile cases involved Al Musrati, the Libyan midfielder who was on Benfica’s radar in the summer of 2021. Despite the clear interest, the negotiations did not reach a successful conclusion, largely because of the uncompromising stance of Braga’s board.

"All of Portugal’s big clubs would like to have Al-Musrati. It is public knowledge that Benfica tried. Sporting also wanted him. With Porto we never spoke about it. There is also interest from abroad, however, we felt that for this season Al Musrati was important and essential for the team, and that is why we renewed his contract," António Salvador revealed two years later in an interview with Canal 11.

The following summer, it was Ricardo Horta’s turn to star in a long transfer saga. Rui Costa pushed hard to sign the Portugal international, submitting offers of around €17 million. Even so, Braga’s president once again refused to give in, blocking the transfer at a time when the Minho side would still have had to share part of the fee with Málaga.

Now, Benfica are preparing for fresh tough negotiations with Braga. The company led by Rui Costa knows it will have to do a lot to secure the Uruguayan, in light of a recent history that clearly shows how difficult it is to close deals with António Salvador.

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