When Rui Vitoria was presented as manager this past summer one of the main objectives both he and Luis Filipe Veiria stressed was the development of youth players. For many fans this was something that had been sorry lacking under Jorge Jesus and so we remained cautiously optimistic about what that future looked like. It would not take long to see as almost immediately players like Nelson Semedo and Gonçalo Guedes were thrown into the mix, setting a precedent that they would be integral to the team. Even Victor Andrade had a small stint, though many were confused why as he had not featured during pre season, yet he scored a valuable goal.
Of course the best player to have come through has been Renato Sanches. At 18 he possesses the football knowledge of someone nearly twice his age. The team had been lacking a proper 8 ever since Enzo Perez's departure to Valencia. Unlike Semedo who would be struck down with injury or Guedes who would lose form throughout the season, Sanches has continued to impress and improve. This of course has attracted attention from football clubs around the world with extravagant figures being tossed around for his signature. Yet many of us have already resigned to the fact he will be sold. But that begs another question: if we want to focus on youth players, why sell them? The most obvious answer of course is the money.
That's a simple answer to focus on considering many players like Bernardo Silva were not sold for crazy amounts to Monaco. Many would say that was Jorge Jesus' doing but in fact people like LFV and the SAD also play an integral part of transfers and none of those people have changed hands. So what could be the other reasons for selling players who we claim to be our future yet are sold at low prices. Does that help our debt or do we simply pocket the money with a thank you? Of course this is typical football behavior as nearly all football clubs sell players even if not at their full price. But most teams don't care about youth development the way Portuguese do, most are simply not interested in their youth systems.
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The problem and questions I personally have and I'm sure others do to, is are we actually going to promote these players to use them long term or will we continue to be a feeder club? Of course selling players is part of the business and a 60 million euro bid for Renato Sanches might be one we cannot turn down. Yet how do we get to a point of financial security where we don't have to rely on big sales to help offset costs. Much has been made that the TV contract recently signed with NOS may not work out which will leave us without that money but perhaps looking out the players on the books is a way to start helping to fix our debts. We have several players on loan that we all know will never come back. Starting with a squad that we know we will either use or bring back will keep us from paying wages to a player we will not play in the first team. Of course that will not help the full scale of the debt but it is a start. There are other factors at play that have to be addressed but starting with one will at least allow Benfica to hopefully not rely on big sales to recoup losses.
So how do we not only develop young kids and promote them to the first team but also keep them? For some cases it may not be possible. But when we look at cases like Bernardo Silva, had he been given the opportunity to play he would have not wanted to move for playing time. We would not have sold him so easily. Of course keeping him and playing him may have attracted more attention leading to Benfica possibly selling him anyway. But the question remains, what is our purpose in developing players if we know we will always sell them. The latest rumor has been an agreement for Renato Sanches to United in the summer. Of course this is all speculation but if it is true, the numbers circulating for an 18 year who, in some aspects, hasn't really even fully proved himself. Of course he's done amazing thus far but a full season will really give a glimpse into what he is truly capable of. British teams are notorious for signing young players, Portuguese especially, even if they are a little raw around the edges. Sometimes they turn out like Cristiano Ronaldo and sometimes they turn out like Bébé. It's not to speak ill of Renato, in fact looking at Bernardo Silva he has done quite well, but for Benfica losing them so young means missing out on their full potential. Losing Renato and potentially seeing him not live up to the hype he has now would be devastating to Benfica fans. No one wants to see him go and thrive elsewhere. But to lose him and have a club like United not know how to play him or let him fall behind would be the biggest insult.
So the question I have for Benfica, for Rui Costa, LFV, Rui Vitoria, Nuno Gomes, and anyone else involved is, what's the long term goal? Because if we sell every player we have are we even really proud of our players? Keeping them is the ideal outcome. And if we cannot keep every single one of them, that's understandable, some players are going to be prime choice for "bigger" clubs elsewhere. But so far Benfica's track record fails them. Even Rui Costa was sold before his big break for financial reasons. Let's not allow Benfica to continue to be in that position where we are forced to sell simply to make money. Otherwise the cycle never ends and it was never really about JJ's lack of wanting to play youth players but instead something much more and that's a dangerous habit Benfica needs to break. Only time will tell what the long term goal is and if it is accomplished. For now, we as fans wait.