After Scoring for Benfica, Ruben Dias Gives Signal to Join Man City

DBasia.news – Ruben Dias contributed one goal as Benfica beat Moreirense. It was also a sign of parting with Benfica before heading to Manchester City.

23-year-old center-back Ruben Dias is reportedly the player closest to Pep Guardiola’s Man City. City reportedly agreed to pay 50 million pounds to recruit Dias from Benfica and include Nicolas Otamendi.

The departure of the Portuguese passport player was confirmed by Benfica coach Jorge Jesus. Benfica won 2-0 over Moreirense recently and Jesus is pretty sure it will be Dias’ last game with the club.

“I’m pretty sure it was his (Ruben Dias) last game, but sometimes everything changes at the last second in football,” said Jorge Jesus as quoted by Sky Sports.

“I don’t think that will happen, he is the player who apologized for leaving, he came from the academy, was our captain and played for the national team … I was blamed too. He left today.”

“It also has to do with getting out of the Champions League and there are things that need to be balanced (financially) at the management level. He has a high market value and of course is already a fantastic player who will continue to grow.”

Apart from providing cash, City will also include Otamendi (32 years) as part of the transfer. The Argentine center-back is wanted by Jesus to add experience in Benfica’s defense, plus he has experienced playing in Portugal with Porto (2010-2014).

“Otamendi is a Manchester City defender who could be involved in Ruben’s transfer. He has shown his abilities at FC Porto, he plays for Argentina and has been a regular starter almost every year at Manchester City,” added Jesus.

“He has stopped starting now and if it weren’t for that then he probably wouldn’t have been included in this potential transfer.”

“Of course, he is a player we want to have. Players who join us must understand that my idea is very different from the one at Manchester City,” added Jesus.

Defense is indeed a focal point that Pep Guardiola wants to fix at City. Even though he has signed Ake City, he needs a strong and character center-back after the departure of Vincent Kompany. Dias’s arrival has the potential to pave the way for Eric Garcia to Barcelona.