After Matvey Safonov arrived from FK Krasnodar at the start of the transfer window, Paris Saint-Germain was waiting for a new recruit. This has now been done with the arrival until June 2029 of Joao Neves from Benfica. A transfer of 60 million euros (+10M€ bonus) which is now official.Paris Saint-Germain are pleased to announce the transfer of Joao Neves. The 19-year-old midfielder has signed a 5-year contract with the club“, we could read in the press release from the Parisian club.
Having arrived at Benfica in 2016, Joao Neves will have grown up well within the Portuguese club where he will have established himself as an undisputed starter. Leaving the nest to embrace a new project, a new adventure for the defensive midfielder who explained the reasons for his choice to the Parisian club’s website: “It is a fantastic project for a big club. It is a young club with high goals and I think this way of thinking and trying to make the club stronger with young players is a great project. This club has high goals and can already boast several records.»
Angel Di Maria helped PSG
With several teammates from the Portuguese national team at Paris Saint-Germain, such as Danilo Pereira, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha and Gonçalo Ramos, Joao Neves will be able to meet them again. He obviously spoke with them before making his decision, but also with a former well-known face from PSG… “I obviously spoke to all the Portuguese players, but also to Ángel Di María, who told me a lot about the club. He only said good things about it and told me that I would be happy here.”
In addition to a familiar environment, Joao Neves will find a style of play that he likes with Luis Enrique. A perspective that has reinforced the player in his decision: “Luis Enrique’s philosophy is what I was looking for, that’s also why I chose Paris. I really enjoyed our conversation. He’s a fantastic person, and I’m really happy to be here. I think he was waiting for me to join the club, so I won’t disappoint him.»
Finally, Joao Neves shared his great ambitions for his Parisian adventure: “I want to take advantage of this new chapter in my career to become a better player and progress as a footballer. It’s a project that asks young players to be excellent on the pitch, and in terms of mature young players, I think I’m in that category.” After the words, it is now time to take to the field to express himself for the prodigy who arrived from Benfica.
