Captains Coates and Pepe bid farewell to Sporting and Porto

Transfer market round-up among Portugal’s big four

The summer transfer window has been a quiet one for Portugal’s three title contenders thus far, with the departure of stalwart captains Sebastián Coates and Pepe at Sporting and Porto respectively the biggest news.

Braga have been one of the most active clubs in the league so far, with 8 new faces and 8 departures. Tom Kundert rounds up the main incomings and outgoings. 

Sporting

Rúben Amorim’s appointment as Sporting coach signalled the winds of change in Portuguese football as the Lisbon club won two championships in quick succession and are today in at least as strong a position as traditional rivals Benfica and Porto, after years living in their shadow.

The coach’s arrival at Alvalade was particularly beneficial for captain Sebastián Coates. The Uruguayan was always popular among the fans for his never-say-die attitude but was error-prone and lacked consistency until Amorim turned up. The 3-4-3 system was perfect for Coates, who was suddenly transformed into one of the best performers in Portugal over the past five years.

He leaves the Portuguese capital having cemented his place as a Sporting legend, leading the club to two championship titles, during the first of which in 2020/2021 he was MVP in the league.

Coates leaves Sporting having played 399 matches, scoring 37 goals and winning two leagues, one Portuguese Cup, four League Cups and one Super Cup.

This summer also sees the departure of three other players involved in both of Sporting’s recent league triumphs, goalkeeper Adán, centre-back Neto and striker Paulinho, who has started his new adventure in Mexico well. Defenders Rafael Pontelo, Nazinho and Rúben Vinagre have also been released, as has striker Mamede and Leicester City have completed the signing of Abdul Fatawu.

Three new faces have been brought in: goalkeeper Vladan Kovačević, central defender Zeno Debast and midfielder Mateus Fernandes, recalled after a successful year on loan at Estoril.

Benfica

The Eagles have moved to try and rectify two problems positions last season, left-back and striker, signing German international Jan-Niklas Beste and Greek centre-forward Vangelis Pavlidis. Defensive midfielder Leandro Barreiro has also been signed.

Pavlidis has looked sharp in pre-season and at first sight appears an upgrade on the likes of Artur Cabral, Marcos Leonardo and Casper Tengstedt.

Coach Roger Schmidt will be looking to trim a bloated squad, with only Juan Bernat and Rafa Silva departing in relation to last season so far, especially as all indications point to star winger Ángel Di María signing on for another season.

With David Neres, Benjamín Rollheiser, Andreas Schjelderup, Tiago Gouveia and Gianluca Prestianni also fighting for a wide berth in the team, competition for places will be fierce in those positions, and it would be no surprise to see one or two of the young pretenders sent out on loan.

Porto

Like Sporting, FC Porto have lost their captain and tower of strength in central defence. Pepe showed at Euro 2024 that he is still capable of mixing it with the very best, but the 41-year-old has called time on his playing career at the Estádio do Dragão.

Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira is a bonafide legend of Portuguese football, arguably the greatest ever defender to wear the Seleção shirt, and his status at Porto is identical.

The Brazilian-born defender was bought from Marítimo way back in 2004 and immediately became a huge success. In two spells at Porto he played 290 games, scoring 17 goals and won four league championships, five Portuguese Cups, one League Cup, three Super Cups and one Intercontinental Cup.  

Pepe has not yet announced if he will continue playing elsewhere, but a career change to enter the Porto structure in an administrative/coaching/ambassadorial role is not out of the question.

Porto’s financial woes are well documented, which helps explain why they have signed precisely nobody in this summer transfer market to date. As well as Pepe, striker Mehdi Taremi, midfielder Bernardo Folha and defenders Jorge Sánchez and João Mendes have been released.

Braga

Last summer Braga adopted a strategy of signing veterans, João Moutinho and José Fonte notable among them, with mixed results.

This year they have gone back to investing in youthful up-and-coming players: defenders Robson Bambu, Bright Arrey-Mbi, Bartłomiej Wdowik, midfielders João Marques and Thiago Helguera, and forwards El Ouazzani, Roberto Fernández and Gabri Martínez. Of those, most interest will fall upon Marques, who impressed at Estoril, and Arrey-Mbi who started his career as a Bayern Munich player.

Released: defenders José Fonte, Cristián Borja; midfielders Cher Ndour, Djibril Soumané, Pizzi; forwards Álvaro Djaló, Rony Lopes and Abel Ruiz.