Ivanovic signed for Benfica, but could have joined a European giant | OneFootball

Franjo Ivanović was close to joining Fenerbahçe at the time when José Mourinho was managing the Turkish team. According to the newspaper Record, the current Benfica coach was quite pleased with the performance of the Croatian international in a friendly match against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

Despite José Mourinho's desire, Fenerbahçe was unable to meet the financial demands of the Belgian club. Meanwhile, Benfica stepped in and managed to secure the Croatian international from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, bringing strong competition for Vangelis Pavlidis.

After a stellar start, where he scored against Nice in the Champions League, Franjo Ivanović went through a less positive phase. However, as revealed in the Glorioso 1904 Exclusive on September 19, the Benfica management has full confidence in the abilities of the 21-year-old athlete.

This season, wearing the Benfica jersey, Franjo Ivanović – valued at 13 million euros – has played 10 matches: five in the Liga Portugal Betclic and five in the Champions League. In the 573 minutes he was on the field, the forward scored three goals (Nice, Tondela, and AFS).

Franjo Ivanović joined Benfica in the summer transfer window, coming from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. The Croatian international cost the Clube da Luz 22.8 million euros, with an additional 5 million depending on the achievement of certain individual and collective objectives. The striker has a contract with the Eagles until 2030 and a release clause of 100 million euros.

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