Benfica Sets High Price for Vangelis Pavlidis Amid Barcelona Interest
Barcelona’s search for a centre-forward has reached Lisbon, but Benfica are making one thing crystal clear: Vangelis Pavlidis leaves only if someone puts an offer on the table they simply cannot refuse.
According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, the Portuguese giants have drawn a hard line around their Greek striker as Barça step up their late-window hunt for a No 9. The Catalan club’s priority remains Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez, yet that pursuit has turned sour. Atletico have gone on the offensive, filing an official complaint to FIFA and accusing Barcelona of harassment, forcing the La Liga champions to widen their shortlist.
Pavlidis, 27, is one of the names to move into focus. For now, though, he is locked behind Benfica’s valuation and their reluctance to negotiate. Club directors, Mundo Deportivo report, regard any sale as highly improbable. That stance will not change unless a truly irresistible bid arrives. By the end of July, Portugal’s most decorated club had not received a single formal offer for last season’s top scorer.
Behind the scenes, the story has been more turbulent. Portuguese newspaper A Bola, which is well connected inside Benfica, revealed that Pavlidis went off on holiday anxious and frustrated. The forward doubted the club’s long-term plan and suspected the board wanted to cash in on him to plug the financial hole left by missing out on the Champions League. Those concerns sharpened as his form dipped: between February and May he scored just three goals, a drought that weighed heavily on a player signed to be a reliable finisher.
Then the goals returned. In the preliminary rounds of the Europa League, Pavlidis hit four, a burst that changed the mood around him and strengthened Benfica’s hand. A striker wrestling with doubts has quickly become a forward in form, and a more expensive one to prise away.
The market has already tested that resolve. Juventus sounded out Benfica earlier in the window, only to back away when told the price: 40 million euros. The Italian club walked, leaving Pavlidis still in Lisbon and Benfica still waiting for the kind of bid they believe will never actually arrive.
