Benfica’s 10 biggest sales of all time

Benfica have built a legacy as the most successful club in Portugal as well as being a home for young talent to establish themselves in Europe.

Notably, Joao Felix and Enzo Fernandez have left Benfica for monumental transfer fees, but they are not the only examples. Benfica regularly bring in huge profits on talented youngsters.

With excellent scouting and an arguably even better youth academy, the Lisbon giants have become one of Europe’s best selling clubs.

Below, FootballTransfers takes a look at the 10 biggest sales Benfica have made.

10. Axel Witsel – €40m (to Zenit, 2012)

Axel Witsel had only been at Benfica for one year before Zenit St Petersburg activated his €40m release clause to bring him to Russia.

The Belgian international had joined Benfica from Standard Liege for €10m in 2011, and he made 32 league appearances in his year at the club, scoring once.

Witsel spent five years at Zenit and had a spell in China before joining Borussia Dortmund for €20m in 2018 and Atletico Madrid in 2022.

He was Benfica’s most expensive departure for seven years before his transfer fee was eclipsed in 2019.

9. Ederson – €40m (to Man City, 2017)

Manchester City signed Ederson from Benfica in 2017 for €40m, which made him the second-most expensive goalkeeper ever at the time.

The Brazilian had led Benfica to the league title in both his seasons at the club and was named Portugal’s Goalkeeper of the Year during his first campaign in Lisbon.

He won six Premier League titles in his first eight years at City and helped Pep Guardiola’s side to Champions League glory in 2023. He left for Fenerbahce in 2025.

8. Marcos Leonardo – €40m (to Al-Hilal, 2024)

Benfica signed Marcos Leonardo as a prolific young forward from Santos in January 2024. Just a few months later, the Brazilian was again on the move.

In the summer of 2024, Saudi giants Al-Hilal offered to pay €40m for the attacker, and this offer was deemed too good to turn down by the Benfica hierarchy.

Leonardo continued his prolific form in Saudi Arabia and was linked with a move to Atletico Madrid in January 2026.

7. Alvaro Carreras – €50m (to Real Madrid, 2025)

Spanish left-back Alvaro Carreras was on the books at Real Madrid and Man Utd as a youngster, but it wasn’t until he joined Benfica on an initial loan that he really lived up to his potential.

The Lisbon side exercised their €14.3m purchase option in the summer of 2024 and then flipped Carreras for a sizeable profit to his former club Real Madrid a year later.

Los Blancos triggered his €50m release clause to bring him back.

6. Goncalo Ramos – €65m (to PSG, 2024)

A product of Benfica’s famed academy, striker Goncalo Ramos became a prolific attacker for the first team in the early 2020s and attracted widespread attention.

He was frequently linked with the Premier League, but PSG ultimately snapped him up on an initial loan in the summer of 2023. Despite not really being a perfect fit, the French giants made his move permanent in January 2024 for €65m.

He has continued to be in and out of the side and is likely to leave the club in 2026.

5. Joao Neves – €65.9m (to PSG, 2024)

Six months after Ramos joined PSG, another Benfica academy product followed suit, moving to Paris for a similar fee. That player was youngster Joao Neves, who had experienced a rapid rise to prominence.

A cultured but combative midfielder, Neves was heavily linked with Man Utd before PSG swooped in and signed him for just short of €66m in the summer of 2024.

Neves immediately became a crucial player and won the Champions League with the Parisians in 2025.

4. Ruben Dias – €71.6m (to Man City, 2020)

Ruben Dias established himself as one of the best defenders in Europe during his time at Benfica, and he has only enhanced that reputation at Man City.

Dias was at the heart of Benfica’s defence for three seasons, winning the league once, before he joined the English side in 2020 for €71.6m.

The Portuguese international was named as City’s Player of the Year in his first season and helped Pep Guardiola’s side to a memorable treble in 2023.

3. Darwin Nunez – €85m (to Liverpool, 2022)

Darwin Nunez‘s departure to Liverpool in the summer of 2022 represented the second biggest sale in Benfica’s history at the time.

The Uruguayan was prolific in the 2021-22 season, scoring 34 goals in 41 games – including twice in the Champions League quarter finals against Jurgen Klopp’s side, which prompted the Reds to sign him.

Nunez had arrived from Almeria in 2020 as Benfica’s record signing at €24m, and although he failed to win the league title during his two seasons in Portugal, his move was a success given the profit they were able to turn on him.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to keep up his scoring form. Nunez became a bit of a meme in the Premier League due to his poor finishing and he was sold to Al-Hilal for €53m in 2025. After just six months in Saudi Arabia, he was de-registered by the Riyadh club for the Pro League to make room for Karim Benzema.

2. Enzo Fernandez – €121m (to Chelsea, 2023)

Benfica continued their incredible business in the 2022-23 season by following up the sale of Nunez to Liverpool with that of Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea in January 2023.

The Portuguese club had only signed Enzo six months earlier from River Plate for a fee that has risen to €44.3m, due to a sell-on clause, so this represented an incredible profit.

Enzo impressed during his six months at Benfica and also shone at the World Cup, winning the Young Player of the Tournament award as Argentina lifted the trophy.

But, €121m for the central midfielder represented brilliant business again by Benfica, and it somehow wasn’t the biggest fee they’d earned for a player either.

1. Joao Felix – €127.2m (to Atletico Madrid, 2019)

The sale of Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid in 2019 is not only the biggest fee ever received by Benfica but also the sixth-highest sum ever paid for a player by any club.

The Portuguese wonderkid had only played one season in Benfica’s first team – scoring 15 times in 26 games – before Atletico agreed a deal worth €127.2m to bring him to Spain, the second-highest fee ever for a teenager, behind Kylian Mbappe.

Felix won LaLiga in his second season with Atletico, but never truly found a place under Diego Simeone. After loans at Chelsea and Barcelona, he was sold to the Blues permanently.

After six months back at Chelsea, he was loaned to AC Milan, where he again failed to impress. After 12 months at Stamford Bridge, he was sold to Al-Nassr.

The 10 biggest Benfica sales of all time