Dodi Lukebakio's Journey from AC Milan Interest to Benfica Signing

There was a moment, not so long ago, when Dodi Lukebakio might have been celebrating goals in front of the Curva Sud instead of silencing it.

Back in August 2025, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, AC Milan were deep in negotiations with Marseille for Adrien Rabiot. On the same desk, in the same conversations, another name kept surfacing: Dodi Lukebakio. The then-management, led by Igli Tare, had opened talks and carried out an enquiry. The idea was clear – Milan needed a winger, and fast.

Conrad Harder had just slipped through their fingers. Samuel Chukwueze was on his way out, bags packed for Fulham. The club were forced back into the market and the shortlist grew. Among the candidates, the Belgian wide man stood out, fresh from an 11-goal campaign in Spain with Sevilla. He ticked the right boxes: pace, versatility, a cultured left foot, and a knack for finding the net.

Those qualities were on full display at San Siro on Wednesday night. Davide Bartesaghi learned them all, one by one, in the harshest possible classroom. Lukebakio started wide, hugged the touchline, then cut in onto that left foot, angling his body to whip the ball towards the far post. It was the exact movement Milan’s scouts had once admired on video. This time, it ended with the opening goal against them.

Milan, in the end, chose a different route. Talks never advanced to the decisive stage. No agreement, no late twist, no unveiling in red and black.

Lukebakio’s path veered away from Spain and Serie A. At the start of September he signed for Benfica in a deal worth around €25m, committing to a five-year contract that includes a €50m release clause. Another stop in a career that has already taken him across half of Europe.

At 28, he has built a traveller’s CV: Belgium, England, Germany, Spain, now Portugal. The Belgian national team have called on him 33 times, and he has responded with six goals. Wherever he goes, the numbers tend to follow. He has already hit double figures in a single season for Hertha Berlin, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Sevilla.

Now the question hangs over Lisbon and beyond: with Benfica’s attack built to feed a winger of his profile, is he about to do it again?