After João Felix goes, Benfica fear Ruben Dias will follow

Benfica fear that they could still lose yet another one of their young stars as clubs consider triggering Ruben Dias’ release clause.

Benfica don’t want to lose anymore academy players this season, that much is certain. And there is a sense of increasing urgency to tie down Ruben Dias on a new and improved deal sooner rather than later to ensure that objective is met.

But having already seen teenage star Joao Felix move on after Atletico Madrid triggered his astronomical 120 million euro release clause, eyes of clubs across Europe have turned to the Portuguese centreback.

The 22 year old defender is already an established Portugal international, having represented his country at senior level 11 times, with Portugal unbeaten when Ruben Dias takes to the field.

His exploits for his country at the Nations League earlier this month didn’t go unnoticed, his tremendous defensive displays attracting further interest from clubs across the continent.

And his efforts last season at club level were admirable too; indeed, with a huge 5,639 minutes of football to his name in the 2018-19 season, Dias played the 4th most minutes of any player in Europe last season, and was imperative in Benfica’s title charge.

His defensive capabilities have been on show throughout, with his aerial ability, positional awareness and tackling prowess causing him to pick up many admirers.

The reason Benfica fear losing Dias is due to the termination clause in his contract. Currently, his release clause is set at 66 million euros. No small fee, but a figure that is not deterring potential suitors to the level Benfica would like.

In fact, with De Ligt looking likely to join Juventus for a fee believed to be in the region of 75 million euros, it could encourage other clubs to trigger Dias’ release clause - more specifically, Manchester United.

With that in mind, club president Luis Filipe Vieira is very eager to increase Dias’ release clause to 110 million euros this summer - but with this by now public knowledge, many a side may look to trigger Dias’ current release clause soon in order to snap up the promising Portuguese centreback for a cut fee - before it’s too late.