Benfica
How Álvaro Carreras Became a Missed Opportunity for Manchester United
United sold Álvaro Carreras to Benfica in 2024; his rise and Madrid move exposed policy errors. plus
Álvaro Carreras left Manchester United in 2024 when the club sold him to Benfica for £5 million. He flourished in Lisbon and that progress prompted Real Madrid to pay €50 million (£43.6 million) to bring him to the Spanish capital. United made a profit from the sequence of moves—approximately £8.6 million—but the trajectory raises questions about why he departed Old Trafford in the first place.
Carreras had already built a profile at United. He won the Reserve Team Player of the Year award for the 2021–22 season, trained regularly with the senior squad and was an unused substitute in United’s clash with Chelsea in April 2022. Despite that, BBC Sport’s Simon Stone reported that the view inside the club was mixed when it came to his readiness for the Premier League.
“My understanding is Erik ten Hag felt Carreras was not quick enough for the Premier League and struggled against quick players—and that he was more suited to a back three defensive formation,” wrote Stone back in July. “There was no queue of Premier League clubs looking at him, which is how he ended up on loan, first at Granada and then Benfica.”
United retained a route back when they inserted a £17 million buy-back clause in his Benfica contract, but they chose not to exercise that option. Instead the club spent around £30 million to sign Patrick Dorgu from Lecce last January. Stone asked the obvious follow-up: “My question is why, given United spent the latter half of the 2023–24 season without a recognised left back, they didn’t bring him back to Old Trafford last summer, when Ten Hag concluded Harry Amass was not strong enough,” he wrote. “That would have seemed sensible from a business perspective, knowing Carreras’ value had risen and with a half-decent season behind him, they would get a higher fee if they opted to sell at the end of the season.”
Tactical preferences played a part. Ruben Amorim favours a back three with attacking wing-backs and Carreras’ profile would have suited that approach. Carreras is now playing under Xabi Alonso in Madrid. Alonso, who developed as a manager at Bayer Leverkusen, has moved away from a consistent back three to accommodate a front three featuring Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo and a midfield that includes Jude Bellingham and Aurélien Tchouaméni once injuries are resolved.
Benfica
Alexander-Arnold’s Quiet Tribute: Boots Honour Diogo Jota During Benfica Tie
During Real Madrid’s CL tie with Benfica, Alexander-Arnold wore boots bearing Jota’s No. 20 symbol..
Trent Alexander-Arnold offered a small but visible tribute to former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota during Real Madrid’s Champions League win over Benfica. The detail was noticed by supporters and captured in photographs from the tie in Jota’s native Portugal.
The right back, who joined Real Madrid as he began a new chapter in his career, was pictured wearing boots engraved with the No. 20, Jota’s shirt number at Anfield, alongside an infinity symbol. Liverpool have since retired the No. 20 at senior and youth level. Fans continue to mark his memory by singing his chant in the 20th minute of matches, and memorials have been established outside Anfield and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux.
Alexander-Arnold and Jota were close friends during their time together on Merseyside, and the Madrid defender paid an emotional public tribute after Jota’s passing last July. “He was a very close friend, someone who lit up a room when he was in it,” he said. “I shared the dressing room for five years [and have] amazing memories on and off the pitch with him. It goes without saying he will never be forgotten by anyone. He will live long in all our memories for the amazing man and player he was.”
The match against Benfica also featured a separate controversy when the first leg was temporarily halted in the second half after Vinicius Junior was allegedly racially abused by opponent Gianluca Prestianni. UEFA are currently investigating the incident, and Alexander-Arnold publicly condemned Prestianni after the allegation that he called Vinicius a “monkey.”
“Of course I can’t comment too much, it’s ongoing investigation,” the 27-year-old told Amazon Prime after the game. “But it’s a disgrace to football, Vini has suffered from this, it’s disgusting.”
The boots were a subtle reminder of Jota’s influence on team-mates and supporters alike, and of the personal connections that persist as players move clubs and competitions.
Barcelona
Out of Work: A Measured Look at Top Managers Between Jobs
Out of work: a measured look at leading managers now unemployed, their records and future prospects.
Management at the highest level remains unforgiving. Several well-regarded coaches sit without jobs after spells that combined notable achievements with abrupt endings.
Thiago Motta’s early career was uneven. His Genoa debut lasted 10 games before dismissal, but he steadied matters at Spezia, keeping the club in Serie A despite a transfer ban. Motta then overachieved at Bologna, taking them from ninth place to Champions League qualification, the club’s first appearance in Europe’s top tier since 1965. A 42-match return to Juventus followed and produced the lowest win percentage at the club in well over a decade.
Lucien Favre remains a mixed figure. He enjoyed strong spells at Borussia Mönchengladbach and during his first stint at Nice but faltered at Borussia Dortmund. A return to Nice lasted only half a season and Favre has been out of work since January 2023.
Xavi secured Barcelona’s 2022–23 La Liga title, yet his final season was turbulent and disjointed as the club’s entorno swallowed him. Questions persist about his long-term suitability at the very top level.
Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Nottingham Forest ended in October 2025 after 39 days and eight games without a win, making him the shortest-reigning manager in the club’s history. His record elsewhere, however, includes trophies with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama Marinos, Celtic and Europa League success with Tottenham Hotspur. “It’s just who he is, mate.”
Roger Schmidt left Benfica at the start of 2024–25 after a title-winning 2022–23 campaign and now serves as the J.League’s Global Football Advisor. Will Still rose fast at Reims with a 14-game unbeaten run but left in May 2024 as the team declined. Subsequent spells at Lens and Southampton produced further setbacks.
Other figures on the market include Gareth Southgate, who stepped down after Euro 2024 following eight years in charge of England; Erik ten Hag, dismissed early in 2024–25 then sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after three competitive matches in 2025; Marco Rose, Joachim Löw, Enzo Maresca, Edin Terzić, Laurent Blanc, Zinedine Zidane and Jürgen Klopp, each with differing recent trajectories and questions about what comes next.
Bayern Munich
The Great Runs: A Tour of Football’s Longest Unbeaten Streaks
From Union Saint-Gilloise to Leverkusen: the longest unbeaten runs across club football history. 2024
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, a handful of teams have defined eras by refusing to lose. These unbeaten runs, recorded across domestic and continental competitions, underline how consistency can rival silverware for legacy.
Celtic recorded a 42-game run between November 2016 and August 2017 under Brendan Rodgers. The Hoops went the entire league season without defeat and completed a domestic treble, lifting both the League Cup and the Scottish Cup. That streak ended in Champions League qualifying against Astana. Celtic still advanced on aggregate, but then lost five of six group matches and conceded 18 goals.
AC Milan also reached 42 games unbeaten after a May 1991 defeat to Bari. The Rossoneri went through the 1991-92 league season without defeat and did not lose until a 1-0 Coppa Italia semifinal loss to Juventus in April. That side featured Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten.
Ajax produced a 42-match sequence beginning at the end of 1994-95, a season in which they lost only once in the KNVB Cup. With Edwin van der Sar, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Nwankwo Kanu and Patrick Kluivert, Ajax lifted the Champions League and saw the run end with a 1-0 loss to Willem II in January 1996. They still won the Eredivisie and reached another Champions League final, losing on penalties to Juventus.
Juventus went 43 games unbeaten under Antonio Conte, mostly during 2011-12, winning the title and ending the run with a 2-0 Coppa Italia final defeat to Napoli.
Rangers registered a 44-game unbeaten spell across the 1992-93 season, which ended in March at the hands of Celtic. Walter Smith’s team won the domestic treble, beat Aberdeen in both cup finals and finished nine points clear in the league.
Dinamo Zagreb reached 45 matches without defeat from 2014-15 into 2015-16, their first loss that season a 5-0 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich. HNK Rijeka matched 45 games in 2016-17 before falling to Lokomotiva and later beating Dinamo 3-1 in the Croatian Cup final to secure a double.
Benfica held the post-war European record with 48 matches across 1963-64 and 1964-65, winning two Portuguese titles and a Taca de Portugal under an Eusébio-led side.
Union Saint-Gilloise produced a pre-war 60-game run of 44 wins and 16 draws, which ended on 3 February 1935. In 2023-24, Bayer Leverkusen achieved a 51-game unbeaten run under Xabi Alonso, finishing the Bundesliga season unbeaten before a 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the Europa League final ended the sequence.
Other notable invincible seasons in recent decades include Arsenal (2003-04), Porto (2010-11 and 2012-13) and Rangers (2020-21). Beyond Europe, Al Ahly have completed seven unbeaten league seasons since the 1960s, while Johor D.T. completed back-to-back unbeaten domestic campaigns in 2022 and 2023, each a 22-game league season with domestic trebles.
