Manchester City stars and a world champion. This is what Benfica’s squad would look like if they hadn’t sold their mainstays

Benfica are one of the teams that don’t keep their star players in the team for very long. Their main focus is on nurturing talent and then selling them out of the Portuguese league. This brings huge economic stability to the club, for which they can improve their infrastructure or bring in more talented players.

Putting together a roster of players who have recently donned the Benfica jersey and are now playing at top clubs was not difficult at all. Some of the players from the current squad were also used to complete the squad. This team would surely fight for the Champions League as well.

So what would it look like if Benfica kept their biggest talents and mainstays in the team?

Benfica:: If they hadn’t sold their mainstays 4-4-2

Manchester City’s number one Ederson would have featured between the three sticks in our line-up. The experienced Brazilian goalkeeper excels in his midfield, where he is one of the best in the world. He’s a bit worse at catching, but he was still the best option. Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak was also considered.

Another player in our line-up is also currently playing for Manchester City. It is the strong Portuguese stopper Ruben Dias. Already at Benfica he has won the appreciation of football experts, he was certainly on the radar of several teams, but he eventually chose the north of England.

His teammate in the midfield will be Manchester United representative Victor Lindelöf, who is currently making sporadic appearances despite the intense competition in the team.

To make matters worse, another player is also linked with Manchester, João Cancelo may not be in such great form this season, but he is still one of the world’s top players. He currently plays for Bayern, where he is on loan from Manchester City. The current member of Benfica’s squad, Barcelona academy graduate left back Alejandro Grimaldo, has also made his way into the all-star team.

We move to the midfield. Another Portuguese, Renato Sanches, would also make the starting six. The former Golden Boy winner is currently playing for Paris Saint Germain. The recent world champion Enzo Fernandez will also start a little higher up. After his quality performances in Qatar, he has earned a loan to Chelsea in London.

And now the biggest names are about to arrive. Bernardo Silva and João Felix will start at outside midfield in a 4-4-2 formation. Both have been playing at the highest level for a long time and have experience of the biggest games. Their command of the ball would definitely be a big boost for the team.

In the two-man attack will be Benfica’s current big promise Gonçalo Ramos, who you will remember from the World Cup in Qatar, where he managed to score a hat-trick. And who will play alongside him? It is none other than Liverpool’s Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez, who is starting to come into promising form after an embarrassing start to his engagement.

Source: Transfermarkt, Chosen 11