Domingos Soares de Oliveira in interview to "The Athletic"

Domingos Soares de Oliveira, CEO of Benfica Group, was interviewed by the prestigious portal "The Athletic", where he addressed the latest challenges that Benfica and the European clubs face in the competitive soccer industry, as well as the personal and working relationship with President Rui Costa. 

Super League, meritocracy, and an extremely strong relationship between UEFA and ECA

"We understand the idea behind the concept of the clubs, and it is about generating additional revenue. But we, and I'm not just talking about Benfica, but the football family and most of the clubs that are not part of the Super League, believe that meritocracy is extremely important. We think UEFA is a key partner, and what I saw at the last ECA (European Club Association) general assembly in Vienna is an extremely strong relationship between UEFA and ECA. We are going in the right direction. I'm sure the big clubs will continue to play against each other, but it shouldn't be in a closed competition. It has to be under rules established by us."

Competitiveness of the Portuguese League and European prominence

"I think we are missing where other Leagues have improved to be able to compete well at the European level. In Portugal, there are usually four clubs [Benfica, Sporting, FC Porto, and Braga]. We can have Vitória de Guimarães or Marítimo. But it's hard for them to be competitive. If you look at why Portugal is losing in terms of European coefficient compared to the Dutch League, it is mainly because they have a lot of clubs in the Conference League. We don't have the same situation in Portugal. At the European level, even though there are only four clubs [that regularly compete in UEFA competitions], we had three teams in the group stage of the Champions League, Benfica is in the quarterfinals, and Braga is in the quarterfinals of the Europa League, which is very interesting." 

President Rui Costa: model that is a trend for the future

" We had elections in October. We changed presidents. The previous president had been at the Club since 2003. It was a big change. Now we have Rui Costa as president. It's the first time in Portugal that a former player becomes president. It is something that, in my opinion, goes in the right direction. I have some friends who are in the same position, like Karl-Heinz Rummenigge [at Bayern Munich] and Edwin van der Sar [at Ajax]. We have worked together since he retired as a player and entered management. We've been working together since 2008/09. That's a long time, and that's good. It's the same situation as Kalle [Karl-Heinz Rummenigge] and Edwin [Edwin van der Sar]. They have had time to prepare for the positions they occupy. In fact, they breathe football, they love it, they are passionate about football, and they have a lot of experience. This is a trend for the future. I think we will see more and more soccer players in this position. Rui Costa knows what happens on the pitch. He knows what goes on in the boardroom. He also knows what happens in the different institutions that control and manage football."