Benfica president Rui Costa has no regrets over sanctioning Enzo Fernandez's record-breaking move to Chelsea, saying the World Cup winner forced the transfer through his desire to leave.
Chelsea made Fernandez the most expensive acquisition in Premier League history on the final day of the January transfer window, meeting the £106.8million (€121m) release clause in his Benfica contract.
While Fernandez's arrival took Chelsea's spending to a reported £288.5m in January alone, the fee surpassed the £100m Manchester City spent to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in 2021.
Benfica coach Roger Schmidt said Fernandez was unsettled by Chelsea's interest earlier in the month, and Costa admits the player's desire to leave left the Lisbon giants powerless.
"Everything was done to ensure that Enzo was not sold. I have a clear conscience and I am as sad as any Benfica fan," Costa told BTV on Thursday.
"We tried everything. Enzo has always shown a desire not to stay at Benfica.
"As a fan, I no longer wanted Enzo as a player. As president, he could not continue. I decided he had to leave.
"Commitment to Benfica is not beating your chest. In Arouca [a 3-0 win on Tuesday] we played without Enzo.
"We lost a great player, but I will not cry for a player who did not want to stay at Benfica. I was raised at Benfica, knowing how to honour Benfica.
"Respecting Enzo, he is free to choose and the choice was not to stay at Benfica. At Benfica, there will only be players who are proud to be here."
Costa questioned Fernandez's unwillingness to remain in Portugal until the end of the season, saying any suitors would have waited for the 22-year-old.
"Was Enzo going to lose value until the end of the season at Benfica? No," he continued.
"We tried to show him that if he stayed at Benfica until the end of the season, Chelsea and others would appear."
While the last-minute nature of Fernandez's exit left Benfica unable to sign a replacement, Costa was ultimately pleased with the structure of the deal.
Asked about Fernandez's record-breaking fee, Costa said: "It's in instalments. The value of the clause doesn't have to be paid upfront.
"We reached what we wanted and came out five million above the clause. It was not by chance that this deal ran out of time, we did everything to keep Enzo."
De Ligt: Nagelsmann sacking 'hard to swallow'
Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt was surprised by the club's decision to part company with head coach Julian Nagelsmann and says it has been "hard to swallow".
German heavyweights Bayern officially called time on Nagelsmann's 20-month reign on Friday and swiftly appointed Thomas Tuchel as his successor.
Nagelsmann won the Bundesliga in his only full season in Bavaria, but Bayern find themselves a point behind Borussia Dortmund with 25 games of this campaign played.
Bayern face leaders Dortmund in a huge clash on Saturday, while they also have DFB-Pokal and Champions League quarter-final ties to play in April.
And with the club still in the hunt for a treble, De Ligt – who has been away on international duty with the Netherlands – did not see Nagelsmann's sacking coming.
"I was surprised," he told Dutch TV broadcaster NOS. "We're second in the league and in the quarter-finals of the cups. We're still playing for everything.
"Those in charge decide who the coach is, but it was a difficult decision that is hard to swallow. But I also believe that Tuchel is a coach who suits us."
According to a report in the German media, certain Bayern players turned against Nagelsmann and effectively forced him out of the Allianz Arena.
But De Ligt, who has played 31 times since arriving at Bayern from Juventus at the start of the season, refuted those suggestions.
"Oh, the German media. That says it all," he said. "I had a good relationship with him and his team.
"I sent him a message and thanked him for everything he taught me.
"He really wanted me here at the club and was very important to me.
"Thanks in part to him, I have taken important steps in my development over the past few months."
Hamann repeats Flick plea after Germany 'served the same c*** as at the World Cup'
Dietmar Hamann worries it is "too late" for this Germany team as he called again for coach Hansi Flick to be sacked following Tuesday's defeat to Belgium.
Hamann was a vocal critic of Flick following the 2022 World Cup, where Germany exited at the group stage for the second consecutive finals.
Former midfielder Hamann wanted the coach to go then, and his stance was not softened by the March internationals.
With Germany hosting Euro 2024 and therefore absent from the qualification process, they played friendlies against Peru and Belgium.
A 2-0 win over Peru in Mainz was followed by a 3-2 defeat to Belgium in Cologne, in which Hamann suggested "it could have been 0-3, 0-4 or 1-5 in the first half".
Speaking to Sky Sport, the pundit said: "Nothing has changed at all.
"The team that started yesterday included eight World Cup players. [Florian] Wirtz and [Timo] Werner were also in the starting line-up, who were not there in Qatar due to injury.
"Marius Wolf was the only one who played against Belgium who wasn't at the World Cup. He did an excellent job in Dortmund in the last few weeks and months.
"So, it felt like there were 10 World Cup players in the line-up, and then I can't speak of a change.
"If [Flick] had let youngsters play and they had gotten under the wheels in the first half, then I would have understood because they would have learned something from it.
"But the way it was yesterday, that they play with the same players and we get served the same c*** as at the World Cup, sooner or later people will turn their backs on the national team."
Hamann felt that performance backed up his argument following a World Cup exit he had described as "pathetic".
"It's too late for me," he said. "I spoke after the World Cup, where it was clear to me that it's difficult to continue working with the coach when you're eliminated from the group for the second time in a row.
"I couldn't imagine it because you need a new impetus.
"They hid in Qatar, they let the team down, they didn't take responsibility. And if the coach doesn't take responsibility, then I can't expect the players to take responsibility.
"That's why I don't think the discussion [around Flick's future] comes too early. It's too late, for me, and they decided to continue with it.
"I have big, big concerns about whether things will get better in the coming weeks, months and then at the European Championships next year."
Fulham duo Mitrovic and Silva apologise after FA Cup red cards against Manchester United
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Marco Silva have issued apologies over their dismissals during Fulham's FA Cup loss to Manchester United earlier this month.
The pair were both shown red cards by referee Chris Kavanagh during a seismic passage of play in the Cottagers' 3-1 quarter-final exit at Old Trafford.
Having been called over to the pitchside monitor to check for a handball offence by Willian, who was subsequently sent off, the match official also dismissed Silva for dissent before showing red to Mitrovic after the forward pushed him, reducing them to nine men.
Bruno Fernandes then scored the resulting penalty as Fulham swiftly collapsed from holding a 1-0 lead going into the closing stages.
On Wednesday, both player and manager revealed they had spoken to Kavanagh to apologise, and stressed they will accept the punishments handed down against them.
"I have been away with my national team and have had some time to reflect on the Manchester United match," Mitrovic told the club's website.
"As everyone knows, it was a very emotional one, in which the team gave absolutely everything on the pitch to try to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup.
"On a personal level, I regret my actions that led to me being sent off. I allowed my frustration to get the better of me, and how I reacted was wrong.
"I have accepted the three-match ban for my red card, I have spoken to Chris Kavanagh to apologise, and I have volunteered to accept a club fine.
"I now want to do what I can to put this incident behind me and get back to helping my teammates on the pitch as soon as possible."
Silva echoed his player's sentiments, adding: "Emotions were high at Old Trafford and, as I said in my press conference after the game, I should have controlled my own emotions better.
"It was a very difficult moment, in a match that we had dominated, but I could have handled the situation better.
"I regret what happened, and I have spoken to Chris Kavanagh to apologise.
"He knows that I respect him and the job he has to do. I am sorry that I was not on the pitch to try to lead the team to Wembley, but I am thankful for all the support I have received from Fulham fans over the last few days."
The FA will review issuing a longer ban than the traditional three games for Mitrovic's actions, while Silva is likely to face a touchline suspension too.
Fulham return to action with a trip to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
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