Manu joins Benfica!

INTERVIEW WITH BTV

The 23-year-old midfielder Manu has joined Sport Lisboa e Benfica's professional football team. He signed a contract with the club valid until 2030, moving to Luz from Vitória SC.

Monday afternoon, January 20, was marked by the official announcement and presentation of Manu as a reinforcement for the eagles. Joy, pride and ambition were the motto of the midfielder's first statements in the exclusive interview given to the Club's official television.

"I feel very proud. It's an important step in my career that I've been looking forward to for some time. I felt it was the right time, the moment I was ready to take on a challenge of this magnitude. The word that comes to mind most is pride," he said.

THE CAREER: UPHILL CLIMB TO THE GLORIOSO

He then moved to Feirense, worked his way through the RANKS, and made his first-team debut for the Santa Maria da Feira club on April 17, 2021, in a Liga 2 match against Varzim, as a substitute.

He began to earn his place at Feirense, and in the 2021/22 season he made 21 appearances and scored two goals, totaling around 1,200 minutes, between Liga 2, Portuguese Cup and League Cup.

He remained at Feirense until January 2023, when he was recruited by Vitória SC.

He made his debut in the National Championship on April 14, 2023, in the Famalicão-Vitória SC match, playing as a starter.

A versatile midfielder, Manu made a definitive name for himself in the Vitória SC team in 2023/24, playing around 2200 minutes between the National Championship, Portuguese Cup, League Cup and Conference League, and scoring two goals - against Chaves, on October 28, 2023, and against Arouca, on May 18, 2024.

In the current 2024/25 season, up until the date of his transfer to Benfica, he had made 28 appearances - in the league, Portuguese Cup, League Cup and Conference League - and scored four goals, three of which came in the Conference League, against Zurich, Zrinjski Mostar and Djurgarden; the other was against Gil Vicente, in the Liga Betclic.

He played at the Cathedral again in 2024/25, in Benfica's 1-0 win over Vimaranenses, a match in which he was substituted in the 86th minute, and now he's moving to Glorioso, at the age of 23, with a total of 58 games and six goals for Vitória SC (first team).