Wednesday, 26th September, 2012
Portuguese football has suffered a big loss with the departures of Axel Witsel and Hulk, believes Benfica coach Jorge Jesus.
Witsel departed from Jesus’ club late in the summer after Russian Premier League champions Zenit St. Petersburg activated the midfielder’s buy-out clause with a bid of €40M.
relatedNewsStory On the same day, Zenit agreed a fee with another Portuguese club, FC Porto, for Brazilian striker Hulk.
Zenit are thought to have paid around €40M for Hulk, adding up to a remarkable double swoop for two of the biggest talents in the Portuguese game.
While Jesus cannot say whether it is Benfica or Porto who are the more weakened, he is sure that the country’s football is the real loser.
"Which club lost the most between Porto and Benfica?", mused the 58-year-old.
"It is Portuguese football that is the biggest loser", added the Benfica boss.
"But if you’re asking which club is the weaker because of it, I cannot tell you", he concluded.
It remains to be seen how Benfica and Porto perform over the course of the season without their brightest talents, who are now turning out in Russia.
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