The deal for the Brazilian forward was announced by the club on Friday alongside two other names. Jan Vertoghen arrived from Tottenham as a free agent after spending eight years in England while Waldschmidt joined from Bundesliga side Freiburg.
Vertonghen, who will wear the number five shirt, brings lot of experience for Jorge Jesus in defence. Waldschmidt arrives from Bundesliga club Freiburg, having scored seven league goals to help his former side finish eighth in the 2019/20 season. A three-time Germany international, Waldschmidt will wear the number 10 jersey.
However, much of the transfer buzz was on Cebolinha.
Benfica had to ward off interest from the likes of Napoli and English side Everton to land the 24-year-old. Jorge Jesus also played a key role in the forward joining the club.
As per reports, Cebolinha joins Benfica in a €20m deal and also has a whooping €150m release clause in his contract for European sides.
As part of the contract, Gremio are entitled to 20% of the fees should the player be sold in the future.
In his first speech as a Benfica player, Everton stated that the club’s “grandeur and history” attracted him, saying he was impressed with the structure offered by the team.
He also denied that Jorge Jesus asked him not to enter the field in the game against Internacional. “There was nothing related to the match I had the next day. It was all related to Benfica, my interest in being part of this project. That was the topic of the conversation, in which Mister wanted to know about my interest in being part of the project. “
Everton also said he was looking forward to working with Jorge Jesus.
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✍️ @evertons assinou contrato com o Sport Lisboa e Benfica até 2025! #PeloBenfica
