David Neres has completed his anticipated move to Serie A outfit Napoli after Benfica accepted a €28-million deal, including add-ons, to sell the out-of-favour star.The Brazilian winger had his departure confirmed by Benfica this morning, prior to the official announcement of his signing made by Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis via his official X account.
Neres became a key talking point coming into the season after being left out of the Eagles' two opening Primeira Liga fixtures, despite featuring heavily in pre-season for Roger Schmidt, spiking interest in him from Napoli, among others.
With his future more than uncertain, a weekend trip to Italy over the weekend helped accelerate a now-confirmed switch to Napoli, penning a four-year-deal rumoured to be worth €3m per season as he closes a chapter in Lisbon that lasted two seasons.
The Eagles acquired Neres back in the summer of 2022 for a cut-price deal of €15 million from Shakhtar Donetsk, as the country of Ukraine was propelled into the realities of war with neighbouring Russia.
Neres was a mainstay for large portions of his debut season at the Estádio da Luz, racking up 28 goal contributions in 48 appearances as Benfica were crowned Primeira Liga champions in Schmidt's first year in charge.
His minutes were reduced by a third in his sophomore campaign, however, as the Brazil international scored just five goals all season. The 27-year-old becomes the second most lucrative sale of the season for Benfica following João Neves' transfer to Paris Saint-Germain for an initial €60-million deal, bolstering the club's coffers by €94 million overall.
Neres also stands as Napoli's second priciest purchase of the Antonio Conte reign, with the former Ajax starlet set to be available for his debut as early as this Sunday night at home to Bologna.
By Patrick Ribeiro
