Official: Luís Filipe Vieira slams Rui Costa, runs for Benfica chief | OneFootball

It's official! Luís Filipe Vieira has confirmed that he will be a candidate for the presidency of Benfica in the elections on October 25. The former leader of the eagles harshly criticized the current Board, led by Rui Costa, and explained the reason for his decision, stating that the club urgently needs a different direction.

"I left a house like no one ever did. Over these four years, everything was destroyed, except the heritage, which is quite deteriorated. There is no doubt that it is quite complicated to see what happened to the club," he began by saying. "The situation is not as brilliant as people want to portray. I am one of the few people who have the right to tell the truth. Benfica has no strategy, it lost the race for television rights. I left Benfica with a debt of 80 or 90 million euros, but everything was settled. What I left to be done was Seixal, which was the College, the Hotel, and the Seixal Station. The investment needs to be made. What has Benfica done since then?" he added.

The former red leader does not forgive the current president of the eagles: "Rui Costa did not have character with me. He tried to ignore me all this time. I don't have to run against Rui Costa. I am running for Benfica. I am not on bad terms with Rui Costa. He hasn't spoken to me since he was elected. (...) I received quite worrying information about Benfica. It will go through very serious problems. More than too much was spent in this market," emphasized Luís Filipe Vieira.

Luís Filipe Vieira fears for the future of the reds: "Just see how many candidates there are. It's a sign that things are good, isn't it... It's a sign of vitality, but it's also a sign that they are not satisfied. Benfica has no project. This megalomaniac project was presented and we already had...", he said, referring to the 'Benfica District'.

The former top leader of the reds says that being 76 years old cannot be an obstacle: "I am healthier than those who are 50 and 60 years old. I train every day. I gave 21 years of my life to Benfica. I thought it was over, everyone knew it was my last term. I spent four years standing still, looking at all that... Benfica is in a very... How is Seixal abandoned at this moment? I always kept the Stadium and the Training Center as new," he mentioned.

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