by far the worse defender has gone, now we can build a more stable defense.
The good days are coming back!

At 3-4 million you might as well keep JP because you won't replace him for that much he's a key player. At worst they should have waited for the euro to be over because he may get the opportunity to shine and be worth at least double.

I'm not a Joao P. fan for various reasons, but he should have gotten a higher transfer fee. I understand that he is nearing the end of his prime at 28, but they should have gotten at least 6 or 7 million for a solid defender who plays at the national level.

Classic SCP: Hard working players, passionate fans, incredible youth academy, horrible office management.

Forca Sporting

I also thought Perreira's transfer fee was low - but then I realized two things that put it in perspective. 1) he is 28 years old, and more improtantly, 2) he only had one year left on his contract with Sporting. Sporting should have extended his contract before shopping him - they would've gotten a lot more $$ if he had 3 or 4 years left on his current contract (this is, of course, assuming Joao would have agreed to an extension). All in all, 3.7m for a 28 year old Perreira with just one yerar left on contract sounds about right (maybe a little low but not much)...

Valencia has always been a top club. They've been in the champions league consistently for the past 10 years. Its a step up from a 4th place liga finish unfortunately. I wish him all the best.

Let me first say that I realize player values are very arbitrary. I don't take stock in the transfer fees that clubs put on players, since those are always inflated. But there are several sites/organizations that state player market values, who happen to be credible.
In saying that;

I'm troubled by the Pereira transfer. It's being reported Sporting will receive 3.7 mil euros with an additional 500 thousand should certain metrics be met. So if everything goes great, Sporting is to take in 4.2 mil.
The biggest problem I have with that figure is that based on several sites (non-Portuguese) has Pereira's market value at between 9 and 11 million euros. By all accounts Sporting has only gotten half of the players value.
Why? Pereira is an Int'l squad player in his prime, that is rated very well. This one is odd to me.

It's being reported that Sporting has also sold to junior players to Inter Milan for 800 thousand euros.

I know that here's a financial crunch, and Sporting doesn't own most of the playes they have, outright. But in getting what I perceive is a small amount for Pereira, who they did own, it's not a good sign.

Just so I don't show bias, the numbers being thrown around in regards to Ola John are a bit scary. Let me say that I'm happy Benfica has gotten a highly rated prospect which could develop into something special and profitable. In saying that, by all accounts the reported 9 mil that Benfica has paid is a bit high. Although Ola's market value has seen a big jump, he was still only in the 3 to 5 mil range.

I know this is off topic, and I hope it doesn't high jack the article. Benfica won another title this week, it just so happened to be in Basketball. The final was at the Dragao, and what happened afterwards was inexcusable.
Before I go any further, let me add that when Benfica turn the lights off and turned the sprinklers on, many Benfiquistas killed the club for it. It was bush league and it didn't matter that other big clubs had done it before. It made us look very small, and most Benfiquista criticized the club.
Now that I said that, apparently all sorts of objects were thrown at the Benfica players, after the match. People were in fear for their safety, and by all accounts it was a riot. Nevermind that once again, Benfica was attacked the evening before the match as well.
I realize that most Porto fans are passionate but also happen to be sensible adults. But the actions of the hoodlums needs to be addressed. Not a peep out of PdC or the Porto organization apologizing for the actions of the few. This sort of behavior needs to be stopped and not tolerated by the club whose fans are behaving out of control.
Let me add that Sporting was just as negligible in not reacting properly to the fire in the stands at the Luz.
I'm sure that Benfica has also not acted quickly enough if at all in admonishing its fans for improper behavior.
The fact is that we have wonderful fans that get to watch great futebol. But if this is to continue, players won't come and their will be even less people watching. Sponsors will diminish and the league will suffer badly.
Instead of bickering and accusing, these presidents along with he FPF need to come together and show unity verse hoodlums.

Valencia has traditionally been a grand Spanish club with a rich history and a long tradition of competing at the highest levels of European football. Look at the long list of pedigreed players that have passed through that club. They just dont have the scratch to compete with the likes of ultra-rich malaga, madrid, and barca...,

OLA John e bem-vindo a Benfica!!! From what I've heard and from what little I've seen, he's a pacy winger with trickery and skill...all traits that i felt we were missing in the team this past season (given that the one guy who could've provided it...Nolito...was benched most of the time!!!). 9 million euros? That's quite a lot for us, and certainly guarantees the departure of Gaitan, and possibly one or two more. I just hope it won't be any of Witsel, Nolito or Garay. All 3 of those would be very important to us for next season....Should be yet another interesting summer of activity!