Prestianni joins Benfica!

STATEMENTS TO BTV

Prestianni, an 18-year-old forward, has joined Sport Lisboa e Benfica's professional football team. The forward arrives at the club from Vélez Sarsfield and has signed a contract valid until 2029, becoming the new owner of the number 25 jersey.

Speaking to BTV, Prestianni expressed his happiness at the opportunity to play in Europe for a "great club".

"I'm very happy to be at a club as big as Benfica. It's a dream to play in Europe, and even more so for this great club. When I heard the news [of the interest], I didn't hesitate, and now I'm here. Benfica is the biggest club in Portugal, and huge in Europe. I know that the club is fighting for many things, and we're going to do our best to win everything", said the new addition.

Presented on his 18th birthday, Prestianni wants to contribute to enriching the Benfica Museum - Cosme Damião's collection, but first he is aware of the importance of adapting to the group and the playing model.

"My first feelings are to adapt to the group, to the team's style of play and to win a lot of titles for the club. I hope to grow in the best way possible and stay close to my teammates. Then, when it's time to play, I want to do my best," said the new number 25, revealing his main characteristics: "I'm a player who likes to take on [the opposition], go one-on-one, assist my teammates and I also like to score goals."

The presence of his compatriots Otamendi and Di María, two World Cup winners for Argentina, is seen as an extra motivation for the new signing from Vélez Sarsfield.

"They're two world champions, two extraordinary players. Sharing the dressing room with them, and the fact that they can help me, is gratifying," he said.

Prestianni has already had the opportunity to visit Estádio da Luz and his first impressions of his new home couldn't have been better.

"It's something very nice, a beautiful feeling. I've never been to a club with a stadium like this and, for me, it's lovely," said the Argentinian, leaving a message for the Benfica fans: "I'm going to give everything for this club and give my life for them [the fans]."

CAREER

Born on January 31, 2006, in Ciudadela, a town in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, Gianluca Prestianni joined the Vélez Sarsfield academy when he was just four years old. Given his young age, the Benfica forward spent three years exclusively in training before playing his first game for Fortín, where he made a name for himself by scoring two goals.

His rise through the club's youth ranks was meteoric and, at the age of 16 years, 3 months and 22 days, Prestianni became the youngest player ever to make his debut for the Vélez first team: on May 24, 2022, he was brought on in the 77th minute of the 4-0 win over Estudiantes in the final match of Group C of the Copa Libertadores.

By the end of that season, the forward had played 5 more games and in 2023 he had his breakthrough year, scoring 3 goals and 1 assist in 33 games for the Buenos Aires club, before moving to Benfica.

The eagles' new signing has also already felt the weight of the Albiceleste jersey, having scored 3 goals in 9 caps for Argentina's U-17 team.