<![CDATA[ João Diogo Manteigas diz que Benfica perdeu "identidade" e é um "entreposto de jogadores" ]]>

Benfica "has not had a defined sporting project" over the last four years, having lost "identity" in its football squad due to constant changes in players and coaches, says club presidential candidate João Diogo Manteigas.

"In the last four years, Benfica hasn't had a sporting project. This is proven by five coaches in four years: Jorge Jesus, Nelson Veríssimo, Roger Schmidt, Bruno Lage, and José Mourinho. It's unthinkable to have a sporting project with such a high turnover of coaches," he said in an interview with Lusa.

The lawyer, one of the six candidates in the October 25 elections, highlighted that during Rui Costa's term, 435 million euros (ME) were spent on signings and 705 million euros were spent on departures, which is why he considers that Benfica has become "a warehouse for players", without stability.

"Benfica hires in large numbers, which is why it's a trading company or warehouse. It's not selective about the quality of its signings," said Manteigas, emphasizing that, "instead of signing five players, it should sign two or three at most," especially because it has "a spectacular scouting network," which will be "further strengthened" if it is elected president.

In this scenario, João Diogo Manteigas is against the departure of several young players from the academy, who only remain in the first team for a short time: "If you're going to sell players, sell the ones who cost a lot of money. By investing in young players, we're investing in creating or maintaining identity, which is something Benfica has also lost in the last four years."

And he resorted to the case of João Neves, a player who left Benfica last year, after a season and a half in the 'Eagles' first team, heading to Paris Saint-Germain for 60 ME.

"João Neves could only leave Benfica when he won in sporting terms. When he became captain, he won and set an example for those below. What I have to prove to those at the bottom, in the lower leagues, is that we believe in them and that they will reach the top and that they have that opportunity," he explained.

This constant sale of assets from the youth academy only happens constantly because, according to Manteigas, "Benfica has to sustain itself and have extraordinary financial gains, which are the sale of athletes", which indicates that "ordinary revenues, that is, sponsorships, audiovisual rights, the eventual naming of the stadium, ticketing do not exist, are not capable of sustaining the existing costs".

"Benfica's costs are much higher than its revenue. Over the last four years, it actually increased its operating revenue by 5%, but it also increased its operating costs by 18%, increased its liabilities by 25%, increased its bank debt by 40%, and also increased its debts to third parties, particularly sports companies, due to the €435 million it spent [on players] in four years," he noted.

Although he rejects any type of "austerity" if he is elected president, the 42-year-old lawyer admits that it is necessary to "reduce certain excessive costs, find out what is happening in the ESF [external supplies and services], renegotiate with suppliers, with service providers", and then "reinvest in football".

In the candidate's opinion, Benfica currently receives "little" in sponsorships -- "around 24.1 million" -- and, in relation to the naming of the Estádio da Luz, he revealed that he has already met with "a large business group that operates in sports, which is American, which focuses mainly on Formula 1, and the amount on the table for the stadium always fluctuates between seven and 10 million", since the club "does not have a new infrastructure".

"It's well known that in Europe, stadium naming is an extremely valuable source of funding, but it's only more significant when there's new infrastructure. We don't have plans to tear down the Estádio da Luz and build a new one," he told Lusa, noting that the current venue could be expanded "by 12,000 or 15,000 seats."

Furthermore, Benfica District is, for João Diogo Manteigas, a "very beautiful project, on paper", but it remains to be seen how the current president Rui Costa's candidacy intends to develop it.

"I wish I had that. But I want to know how. Because I don't want Benfica to suffer in sporting terms, to stop winning, because we have to invest in real estate development. Benfica is a sporting entity. Benfica was founded to win. Benfica wasn't founded to think about real estate investments," he said.

In addition to João Diogo Manteigas, the current president, Rui Costa, and the previous president, Luís Filipe Vieira, as well as João Noronha Lopes, Martim Mayer and Cristóvão Carvalho, are also running in the elections on October 25th, with a list led by João Leite at the Board of the General Assembly.

If none of the candidates receives the majority of votes (50%), a second round will be held between the two candidates with the most votes, two weeks later, on November 8th.