Why Benfica are moving to renew Gianluca Prestianni’s deal

At Benfica’s pre-match press conference on 7 November, Marco Silva was asked about Gianluca Prestianni’s contract ahead of the visit to Estrela da Amadora. His answer brought the club’s plans for the young player into public view: Benfica was discussing a renewal, but the process also involved other players.

We are in the process of renewing with Prestianni, as we are with others.

Silva said Benfica’s directors were handling the matter.

That process is more than routine contract housekeeping: it signals Benfica want to keep a player they believe has room to grow. Prestianni arrived from Vélez Sarsfield as an 18-year-old and signed through 2029, so the discussion is about extending the club’s hold on a young talent, not responding to a deal about to expire. What has sharpened the focus is his start to this season. His goals and assists have risen quickly, while Silva says the consistency behind those performances has persuaded Benfica that more is still to come.

The confirmation follows an earlier report about how the discussions began. On 26 September, O Jogo reported that Benfica president Rui Costa had started talks to extend Prestianni’s deal and improve his salary. At that point, the newspaper said, the two sides had not reached a final agreement.

Prestianni had set out his own position earlier in September. In comments reported by Marca on 11 September, he said he was committed to Benfica, while acknowledging that his existing deal ran until 2029.

I will give my life for the club.

That commitment is distinct from a completed renewal: his words described what he was prepared to give Benfica, while O Jogo’s account concerned talks over new terms. The two reports establish a timeline, not the outcome of negotiations.

The increase is visible in A Bola’s two season snapshots. On 24 August, it recorded Prestianni with three goals and one assist in five games. By 2 October, the tally stood at eight goals and three assists in 12 games. The later figures cover more appearances, but the rise in both scoring and creating chances stands out.

Silva’s explanation reaches beyond the match totals. He pointed to the work Prestianni puts in every day, including in training, as the foundation for what supporters see during games. That focus on routine gives the coach’s praise a more specific basis than a run of goals alone.

I understand the question because he has had a fantastic start to the season, and we believe there is even more to come because he has maintained that consistency in his day-to-day work, not only in matches.

Rui Costa’s case for keeping Prestianni rests on how he believes the player has developed. Speaking to Marca in September, Benfica’s president pointed to the time Prestianni has spent at the club and in Europe, as well as his age. Those experiences, Costa said, have helped him reach his current level.

Not long ago, few people gave him credit. We always believed in him; that is why we brought him here. Now he is thriving, also because of his growth, the time he has spent at the club, the time he has spent in Europe and his age, which is helping him reach the level he is at. Prestianni is clearly another player we want to keep; there is no doubt about that.

Naturally, the board is handling that, and doing so well.

Silva also said Prestianni’s current contract was not as short as it might seem, offering a reason for supporters not to treat the renewal as urgent. His assurance that the player was calm, and the club was too, did not amount to a timetable.

Record executive director Sérgio Krithinas offered a more specific forecast, predicting an official announcement within days of 7 November. That was his expectation, not information from Benfica; Silva’s own words stopped at the process and the promise of news when available.

Prestianni’s case has a recent parallel at Benfica, though not yet a matching outcome. In September 2026, A Bola reported that the club had extended Tomás Araújo’s contract to 2031. The newspaper described that deal as the kind Benfica hoped to secure for other players, placing Prestianni’s talks within a wider effort to keep members of the squad on longer-term contracts.

Araújo’s renewal shows that Benfica has already completed one such agreement; it does not reveal what terms Prestianni has been offered or whether he will accept them.

• An official update from Benfica: the club has said it will share news when available.
• The days after 7 November: Record executive director Sérgio Krithinas forecast an announcement within days, though that remains his prediction.