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The Portugal Report 023

Edition 023 – June 5, 2023

The 2022/23 Season Wrap

PSG front runners to meet Sporting buy clause of €60M for midfielder Manuel Ugarte

Cristiano Ronaldo says he has no plans to leave Saudi Arabia and hopes to see the league get better next season

Benfica win their 38th Portuguese League Title

FC Porto claim the Taca de Portugal to wrap up season

Rafael Leao signs new contract with AC Milan

Benfica left it until the last day of the Portuguese League season to claim their 38th League Title defeating Santa Clara 3-0 and maintaining their two point league over second place FC Porto who fought until the bitter end. The title was Benfica’s first since the 2018-19 season, ending a trophy less draught that dated back to 2019. Benfica manager Roger Schmidt also became the first German manager to win the Portuguese League title ever. Lisbon was set in a blaze of red after the victory in an after party that went into the long hours of the night after the championship win. Benfica were led this season by great performances all around which included Goncalo Ramos scoring 19 goals and David Neres providing 9 helpers. The club also saw the continuation of their success with their Seixal academy that provided the first team appearances of Antonio Silva and Joao Neves.
The 83rd edition of the Taca de Portugal was played between FC Porto and Braga in the Estadio Nacional which brought a conclusion to the 2022/23 Portuguese League season. FC Porto captured their third cup of the season with their 2-0 Taca victory over Braga after already winning the Super Cup and the League Cup during the campaign. FC Porto just missed out on making it a clean sweep falling two points short of landing the league title. FC Porto became the first team to defend their Taca de Portugal crown since they themselves did it at the end of the 2010-11 season. The victory by FC Porto sets up a mouth watering opening Super Cup game to kick off the 2023/24 season in which the Dragons will take on Benfica. FC Porto has now won the Taca de Portugal on 23 occasions second only behind Benfica’s 29 titles and have won three of the last four competitions
The Rafael Leao saga looks to have finally come to an end after the 23 year old winger signed a new contract keeping him with AC Milan for an additional five seasons. Leao has been through a turbulent time since departing Sporting for Lille in a case that has gone through the courts various times but has finally come to a conclusion. Leao was first sentenced to pay €16.5M for breaching his contract, the court of arbitration for sport who agreed to the amount plus interest but it will be Lille who will pay Sporting €20M with Leao covering the legal fees of €1M to his former club. Milan will then reimburse the French side 90% of the cost of the amount paid on a future sale of Leao to another club. Leao has been with AC Milan since joining from Lille in the summer of 2019 and was named the Serie A player of the year last season, leading the Milan club to the league title, their first in eleven seasons.

Portugal announce squad for upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers

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Union Berlin trigger clause on Diogo Leite

Union Berlin triggered the buy clause on Diogo Leite’s loan from FC Porto paying the €7.5M to make the central defender’s move permanent. Leite became a regular in the starting XI and helped the German side into the Champions League.

Joao Felix will not return next year to Chelsea

Joao Felix will not return to Chelsea as the club’s new manager Mauricio Pochettino has decided the out of UEFA club will need to focus their limited finances to improve the club in other areas. Felix’s fate with Atletico Madrid is undetermined for next season

Joao Mario calls it a career for Portugal

Benfica midfielder Joao Mario has called it a career when it comes to representing Portugal on the international stage. The 30 year old admits that the toll on his body is something he became concerned with and wants to solely focus on his club career going forward.

Final League Standings ↗

Golden Boot All-Time Winners ↗

National Team Info ↗