Tomás Araújo renews until 2029

INTERVIEW

Sport Lisboa e Benfica and the 22-year-old center back Tomás Araújo, – who had a contract with the club until 2028 - have agreed to renew their contract for another season. The new contract is valid until 2029.

"IT'S BEEN A BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY AND I HOPE IT CONTINUES LIKE THIS"

Speaking to BTV shortly after his contract was renewed, Benfica's number 44 took stock of his years with the eagle on his chest. "It's been an incredible journey, I've grown from season to season, both as a player and as a person, I think that's the most important thing. The titles are the result of that growth and, in particular, the Youth League, which was a very important milestone for the club, and it was an incredible generation, it was a pleasure to work with those boys. It's been a beautiful journey and I hope it continues," said Tomás Araújo.

Assuring that the individual goal is to “keep improving”, the player guaranteed that the team “will give everything” to win every game and become national champions.

Finally, Tomás Araújo left a message for Benfica fans: “Keep supporting us! We're a group that works hard, that loves playing for Benfica and keep supporting us because together we make everything easier.”

A Made in Benfica Campus player, Tomás Araújo has been with the club since 2016/17. At the age of 22, the central defender has already played 41 games for the professional football team and has become a senior international for the Portuguese national team.

Originally from Palmeiras FC/Benfica Escola de Futebol Famalicão, he moved to Benfica Campus in 2016/17 and, in his first season with an eagle on his chest, he became the National Champion in the U-15 category. Tomás Araújo then progressed through the U-17 and U-19 teams until he reached the B team, where he made his debut on September 19, 2020. That same season (2020/21), he also represented the Reds' Under-23s.

The central midfielder developed in the B team in the 2021/22 season, and his good performances led to his debut in Benfica's first team: he played 90 minutes in the 3-0 win over SC Covilhã in the League Cup on December 15, 2021. It was the first of four official games at the highest level with the Manto Sagrado in that sporting year.

In the same 2021/22 season, he also played a full part in the U19s' victorious UEFA Youth League campaign and, as captain, lifted the prestigious trophy in Nyon.

In 2022/23, taking another safe step in his development process, Tomás Araújo was loaned out to Gil Vicente, where he played 26 games split between the League (22), the League Cup (2) and the Conference League group stage qualifiers (2).

He returned to his parent club in the 2023/24 season, during which he made 20 appearances: 13 in the league, 3 in the Champions League, 1 in the Portuguese Cup and 3 in the League Cup. One of the highlights of Tomás Araújo's season was his first-team debut (90 minutes) in the Champions League on December 12, 2023, when the Glorioso beat Salzburg in the group stage of the competition.Two months earlier, on October 3, he played his first minutes in the competition (he was a substitute against Inter in Italy).

Another relevant career fact was recorded on Tomás Araújo's CV on April 14, 2024, at the Estádio da Luz, the stage where the player made his scoring debut for the Reds' professional football team (against Moreirense, in the Championship).

In the current 2024/25 season, until he renewed his contract with Sport Lisboa e Benfica, the eagles' number 44 played in 17 games for the eagles: 11 in the League, 5 in the Champions League and 1 in the Portuguese Cup. As a result of his performances at the club, he was called up to represent the national team.