Rui Duarte's surprise claim on Benfica defender: Thought he'd join Napoli | OneFootball

The arrival of Gabriel Índio at Benfica continues to generate excitement, and Rui Duarte, the coach who closely followed the young defender’s development at Athletic, has no doubts that the Reds have secured one of the most sought-after talents of the new Brazilian generation. The Portuguese coach admitted he was caught by surprise by Benfica entering the race for the player, since he believed the centre-back’s future would be in Italy.

"I was also surprised, because I knew he was close to Napoli. Since the Minas Gerais state championship, that was the information we had. I really thought he would be headed to Napoli," he revealed in an interview with the newspaper Record.

Rui Duarte also explained that Gabriel Índio had been attracting attention long before the Eagles’ interest emerged. "We had many approaches from big clubs in Europe and from teams in the 'big five' that knew him very well. I know scouts from major teams and they would all ask me: 'So, what about Índio?' That clearly shows he was on the radar of Europe’s top clubs," he said.

The 47-year-old coach also assured that it was not only European clubs that were following the young centre-back, including Abel Ferreira’s Palmeiras: "Palmeiras, Flamengo, Atlético Mineiro, Cruzeiro and others knew him well," he said.

Rui Duarte also highlighted Athletic’s key role in the discovery and development of the player, he said.

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