Benfica's current business model does not satisfy Mauro Xavier, who has his own model to protect the club and young players. He will sign Di Maria, because the Argentine “will never be a problem”, but he warned that Roger Schmidt must review the tactical system

– Let's go to professional football. If you were the president of Benfica, would you keep Roger Schmidt in his position?

– Today yes. I asked Roger Schmidt to leave in November, because I think there are only two windows to change coaches. Either at the end of the season or before the December window, because it allows for team arrangements. And Benfica's playing model should be based on the formation. We should have 26 or 27 players in our squad, at least 20% of whom come from our training. But we also have to create the idea here that any Benfica player who leaves, an A international who has played more than 50 games for Benfica, gets a contract signed by the Benfica president, stating that he is between 29 and 33 years old, and he can return to the club on his current salary, without signing bonuses, without agents, and simply return to the club, whose doors will always be open. I argue that academy players should have a season of discovery, a season of confirmation, and a season of consecration. Three seasons, at 19, 20 and 21 years old. We know Benfica must be sellers, but after recovering this talent that Sixal created, they must do the opposite course.

– Will you sign Di Maria for another season?

– Di Maria will never be a problem. He has just lifted the Copa America, he was the best player in that final. Di Maria’s tactical system has to be rethought, that’s what makes the difference, the system that empowers the players. Last year he was one of Benfica’s best players, he was the one who had the best numbers. Last year we had something, we didn’t win and we didn’t play well. And at Benfica it’s not enough to just win, you have to win and play well and have that demand. There was a bit of a disconnect with the fans. I’ve done a reset. I hope it’s the Roger Schmidt of the first season and not the Roger Schmidt of the second season and that he’s excited about the football that Roger Schmidt plays again.

– If you were the president of Benfica, would you sell Joao Neves for less than his €120m release clause?

– I will not sell any player from the team before the third season as a starter, he must be an example. He said that João has played two seasons, the special season, where he played 10 games, and last year he was a starter. This year will be the year of his consecration. Only Ruben Dias has been able to complete this journey of three seasons. We are talking about more than a thousand people who started their journey with the under-12s, and four of them have reached the first team. So we do not exploit them… We are a training school for men. As players, as in Benfica, I think it is a big mistake. And its clauses must be fulfilled. So anything outside the clause is a no. The clause is inevitable, it is part of football life. But this is the model that I would like to see, not only for João Neves, but for any player at Benfica. I also include Antonio Silva. He is in his third season. Florentino has already done that.

Benfica's model currently relies on selling at least one player per season, so is it possible to break out of this vicious cycle?

– It depends on the model of getting 50 million in capital gains. It is not about the value, it is about the value of the capital gains. I think it is possible to improve some part of the management, but I am not the person who thinks that bits, bits, bits will help to grow, grow, grow. We have to look at our revenues to help them grow, and always be the best managed. We will never be the richest, we have to be the best managed. We will never be able to escape this model, but I think we cannot rely on the model of sales and the Champions League. Two years of bad sporting results for Benfica are the two years in which we entered a financial crisis, as we saw with Porto. The rings go, the fingers stay, we already know this story, we do not want to live it again, we have seen it up close. I am concerned about some indicators in Benfica's accounts, which require more revenue, more focus and some control over spending. Also regarding spending on players' salaries, from this point of view, it should increasingly be based on goals. When they are not playing, there is no such charge.

— A little while ago you touched on the subject of Seixal, which is a club flag, both for its work and for its training. Do you think Seixal is what it should be?

– No, I think Seixal is the pioneer and Benfica has recovered a lot and has managed to be one of the best academies in the world. But today it is no longer in the top 10 gyms in the world. We are only in the top 10 in sales, because it is clear that we are a selling club. When we want to think about innovation, no one visits Seixal to see innovation anymore. No one visits Seixal to see facilities anymore. So, I think Benfica should modernize. From my point of view, since this is the core business of the club, I think Seixal should report directly to the president. It is one of the things that should be changed very quickly in the organization of the club. Seixal is the future, the team is the present. So, we have to combine the present and the future. The third arm is scouting, which can be added to the core of the work in football. What do I defend for Seixal? Expanding Seixal, not only to integrate the feminine, but to allow better practices. Secondly, integrating the school to allow training men adapted to football and not externally. Third, to create an innovation hub, where startups can innovate everything related to sports, with Benfica always at the forefront. Then it can be replicated in other clubs. In other words, we participate in the capital of these startups to help create new business models. These three alternatives are essential in the short term for Sixal.

Mauro Xavier is a Benfica member, was an active voice at the club's last general assembly and says he is a “sick Benfica fan”, but refuses to discuss a possible candidacy for president. But the letter could be from one of the candidates

– What relationship should Benfica have with the other big clubs in Portugal?

– There must be healthy competition, which is only played on the pitch. And he must have the ability to sit at the negotiating table on issues such as television rights, which concern everyone. And on arbitration, which we haven’t talked about yet. On discipline. On competition models. In other words, Benfica must be the adult in the room with its rivals and the other clubs. Because he is the one who always has the most to lose, so he has to lead. You have to lead the relations with the government. You have to lead the relations with the other clubs. And that is what I expect from Benfica. It does not mean that Benfica gives up the leadership of the Portuguese Football Federation and the league. Benfica wants to lead the league, the federation and the other clubs.

– I think he is defending the idea of ​​the Estádio da Luz that came from the period of Domingos Soares de Oliveira in the management of SAD.

— It makes the pawn fast, UEFA has already allowed it to be in Portugal. The government must act quickly and we will be on time, it is a short work. It is present in many leagues and this allows for lower ticket prices by having more people. It allows for more affordable prices. It is the seventh largest industry in Europe and we have few national industries that compete with the best. The ticket is charged at 23%. It is a cultural event. All other cultural events are charged at 6%. Therefore, the VAT should be reduced from 23% to 6%, which again allows for cheaper tickets. Fans spend a lot of money to support their clubs, without the government doing its part. In order for our clubs to compete with others, they pay an additional 53% in taxes, plus 11% in social security. In other words, our problem was not to give 4 million euros to Joao Neves, the problem is that in order to give 4 million euros to Joao Neves we have to pay 10 million euros. We want to be able to compete with everyone, with everyone's rules. We do not compete with everyone, with everyone's rules. It is also up to the government to change and Benfica to lead this.

– Ask if there is any topic you would like covered that has not been covered.

— A word to the Benfica fans who will be in Paris. The 200 Benfica fans of the Olympic Project, the projects that I am most proud of in Benfica and the athlete Fernando Pimienta, who represents all the magic. Votes for personal records, national records and medals.