Barcelona defender Nelson Semedo has confirmed he wants to return to Benfica later in his career to help the Portuguese giants to more success.
The right-back was signed by the Blaugrana from the Lisbon club in the summer of 2017 for a €35m fee but has not always featured regularly at the Camp Nou, with Sergi Roberto often preferred at full-back.
The Portugal international was hugely successful at his boyhood club, winning five trophies including two league titles across just 64 first-team appearances.
“I would like to return at a stage where I can give everything and help the team, not only to earn money as some people do,” Semedo is cited as saying by El Mundo Deportivo.
“Winning the league title was indescribable. Being champion for the club of your heart is a great feeling, it is a dream come true, it was spectacular.
“Benfica gave us very good values as players and as men. Without Benfica we could not be where we are, giving a better life to our families.”
The right-back had been widely linked with an exit from the Camp Nou last summer with Atletico de Madrid among the clubs strongly mentioned in relation to his transfer a year ago, before they moved for Kieran Trippier.
Semedo’s current contract runs until 2022 with the Catalan club hopeful of adding a further two years to that, but his agent Jorge Mendes believes he can find a buying club who would make him a starting regular for next season – with the player said to prefer a move to Manchester City, as per Thursday’s edition of El Mundo Deportivo.
