After winning their last match of the season against Estoril this Saturday (3-1), Benfica finishes the Portuguese championship undefeated. However, the Lisbon club is not crowned champion and will not play in the Champions League next season.
Football can be cruel. Despite a victory against Estoril on the last day of the Portuguese championship (1-3), leaving Benfica Lisbon unbeaten this season…José Mourinho’s men will not be playing in the Champions League next year.
In Portugal, only the first-place team in the championship is directly qualified to play in the European competition. The second-place team plays a playoff match, and the third-place team qualifies for the Europa League. And it is this last option that awaits Benfica Lisbon, despite being undefeated this season. The fault lies in too many draws: 11 out of 34 matches. Unlike Porto, the leader, who only has two losses and four draws…A bitter (and rare) conclusion for the Lisbon club.
The ambiguous future of José Mourinho next season
This is the burning issue in the Spanish press, which is announcing José Mourinho’s return to the Real Madrid bench next season, thirteen years after leaving. While the Portuguese coach has denied the information, his future on the Benfica Lisbon bench remains unclear.
And it’s not “The Special One” who will help journalists see more clearly. “I think currently, there’s a 99% chance I stay at Benfica,” first said the Portuguese after the Estoril match. Before reigniting the rumor: “Sure, I haven’t spoken to any member of the Real Madrid board, but we’re not silly: there are contacts between the club and my agent, which I believe will lead to discussions with me next week when I should decide my future.”
But José Mourinho is sure of one thing: whether it’s Benfica or elsewhere, his future should be decided in the coming days.
/2026/05/14/6a05d95f31a7e381848339.png "Three teams fighting for two spots in C1, last hope for OM to secure Europe, the play")
