Football News: How Benfica was able to make over €1.1 billion in player transfer sales

One part of the Portugal big three, along with Porto and Sporting CP, Benfica are well decorated and boasts some of the nation's biggest following.

By shrewdly reinvesting the money generated from capitalizing on prospective superstars, Benfica has become market rulers.

The Eagles have won 26 Taca de Portugal trophies, a record and a league-high 37 titles in Portugal. Additionally, in 1961 and 1962, Benfica won back-to-back European Cups.

Many well-known athletes, like Eusebio, Mario Coluna, Luisao, Angel Di Maria, Nuno Gomes, Ruben Dias, and David Luiz, have represented the Eagles.

Numerous players from Benfica have moved on to play for prestigious European teams in the twenty-first century, including Joao Felix, Renato Sanches, Jan Oblak, and Victor Lindelof.

Since the turn of the century, Benfica has made nearly €1 billion (£840 million/$1.01 billion) via transfer transactions.

Darwin Nunez, a striker from Uruguay, was Lisbon's most recent high-profile export. Nunez signed with Liverpool for a record €75 million (£64 million/$79 million).

This decade began with legend Angel di Maria, sold for a record fee of €33 million in the 2010-2011 season.

Most significant transfer sales of Benfica of this millennium

Benfica has been in some significant transfers in the football world. Below are the top transfers of this century.

• 2022-23- Darwin Nunez for €97 million
• 2021-22- Pedrinho for €49.5 million
• 2020-21- Ruben Dias for €76.5 million
• 2019-20- Joao Felix for €240 million
• 2018-19- Talisca for €73.3 million
• 2017-18- Ederson for €132.7 million
• 2016-17 -Renato Sanches for €121.3 million
• 2015-16- Rodrigo for €104.3 million
• 2014-15- Enzo Perez for €104.6 million
• 2013-14- Nemanja Matic for €45.7 million
• 2012-13- Axel Witsel for €75.7 million
• 2011-12- Fabio Coentrao for €41.2 million
• 2010-11- Angel Di Maria for €85.7 million
• 2009-10- Konstantinos Katsouranis for €6.8 million
• 2008-09- Nelson for €7.6 million
• 2007-08- Simao for €55.7 million
• 2006-07- Ricardo Rocha for €11.3 million
• 2005-06- Miguel for €9.8 million
• 2004-05- Tiago Mendes for €18.4 million
• 2003-04- Ednilson for €130k
• 2002-03- Marco Caneira for €1.50 million
• 2001-02- Fernando Meira for €21.3 million
• 2000-01- Nuno Gomes for €19.4 million

Above is the list of the highest transfer sale for an athlete from Benfica. The total of which roughly amounts to a whopping €1.1 billion. 

The highest was Joao Felix in the 2019-2020 season, which was sold for €240 million.

Angel Di Maria may have begun his career in Argentina with Rosario Central, but during his three-year stay with Benfica from 2007 to 2010, he rose to fame.

The winger made an impression while playing for Benfica, particularly in the 2009–10 campaign when he contributed to the team's Taca da Liga and Primeira Liga victories.

He led Argentina to victory in the 2010 World Cup, and naturally, Real Madrid offered to sign him that summer.

When Champions League runner-ups Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez, one of the hottest strikers in Europe, earlier this summer, they sent a message.

The Uruguayan international had a prolific goal-scoring record for Benfica that had clubs from all over the world clamouring to sign him. He had also ignited the Champions League and the Primeira Liga.

He only joined Benfica in 2020, and his time in Portugal went to a shaky start. But in the 2021–22 season, he demonstrated his potential by posting a remarkable return of 34 goals from 41 games across all competitions.

One of the teams said to have been actively interested in him as Manchester United, but Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool paid a premium to sign the Uruguayan hitman.

Joao Felix, a graduate of the Benfica academy, rose swiftly to prominence in Portugal. So much so that Atletico Madrid spent an eye-popping €127 million to bring him to the Wanda Metropolitano, making him the second-most expensive teenager in the world in 2019.

Thus, Felix was sold for the most money by Benfica and was hired by Atletico for the most money. In actuality, Felix overtook Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho, and Neymar as the fourth-most expensive football player of all time.