Inside the Benfica Campus, one of the world’s greatest football talent factories

Over the years, the club’s academy — known as the Benfica Campus — has nurtured numerous stars that have gone on to command high transfer fees from “More than winning the trophy, it’s the regularity,” Magalhães says. “If we were a team that goes once in five years to a semifinal or to a final, okay, it’s good for us. But a team [with Benfica’s record] means that really we have a group of players that are able to compete at the highest level in comparison with other teams in Europe.”For us, the regularity is a sign that our work is going well.”With Benfica unable to rival Europe’s wealthiest clubs — like Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain — for player transfers, Magalhães knows the first team’s best route to success is through nurturing its own world-class talent.Aspiring starsAntónio Silva is one of the current crop of rising stars in Benfica’s academy and was in the team for last season’s victorious UEFA Youth League campaign. The 18-year-old central defender joined Benfica in 2014 and, given his position, naturally hopes to emulate Dias’ success. Dias joined Manchester City from Benfica for around $75 million in 2020 and immediately cemented his place among the best defenders in the Premier League. In his two seasons at City, the 25-year-old has played a crucial role in winning two Premier League titles and reaching the 2021 Champions League final.Silva even wears the No. 66 shirt that Dias wore while he was at the club.”I look up to Rúben a lot,” he tells CNN Sport. “He started playing here and look at all the things that he achieved at Manchester City and also in the team at Benfica. He’s a person to look up to and it’s important for me to have my references to reach the top.READ: Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale to join Los Angeles FC on one-year deal”Portuguese clubs work a lot with the youth ages, so it’s important for us to have the kind of players that reach the top and play in all the leagues, in the top leagues like the Premier League and La Liga, like Nuno [Mendes] being in PSG.”For us, it is important to have those kind of players, like idols for us to try to also complete this process and, if it is possible, do it better than them.”Silva describes himself as a modern center back, comfortable with the ball at his feet and capable of playing long balls or passing alone the floor. As well as Dias, Silva draws his inspiration from Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger.However, Silva knows none of the players’ personal and team success would be possible without the dedication of the hundreds of staff that work in Benfica’s bases around the country.”Benfica has a lot of people who work for us, that give everything to us and this is the most important thing,” he explains. “Benfica Campus is important, but the people who work with us? They are more important.”