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Legends

Monaco and Benfica: Who Played for both?

With AS Monaco set to take on SL Benfica in tomorrow's Champions League play-off round, we look back at some of the major players to have turned out for both clubs, starting with Bernardo Silva, a Ligue 1 McDonald's title winner with the Principality side in the 2016/17 season. Besides those detailed here, other players to have turned out for both teams include Fabio Coentrão, Ivan Cavaleiro and Gil Dias.
E. DEVIN
Published on 02/12/2025 at 01:00
2-minute read
Ten players have turned out for both AS Monaco and SL Benfica -- here's our look at some of the major figures.

Bernardo Silva: SL Benfica 2013-14, AS Monaco 2014-17

Easily the most accomplished player to have played for both sides, Lisbon native Silva joined Monaco from Os Aguilas in 2014, initially on loan. Under Leonardo Jardim, his playmaking skill and versatility made him a lynchpin as the team made a pair of deep runs in the Champions League, in 2015 and 2017. Beyond winning the title in 2016/17, he was also a part of the UNFP Team of the Year in his final season. Since departing, he has made nearly 400 appearances for Manchester City as well as being a key part of his country's side.

Javier Saviola: AS Monaco 2004-5, SL Benfica 2009-12

Nicknamed "El Conejo" the diminutive playmaker was regarded as one of the most technically skilled players of his era and was even seen as the heir to Diego Maradona in his native Argentina. While the emergence of Lionel Messi at Barcelona made him expendable there, his loan season in the Principality was impressive indeed as he netted 17 goals and helped the team come third in Ligue 1 as well as reach the semifinals of both domestic cups. In a later spell with Benfica, he helped the team regularly reach the knockout rounds of the Champions League as well as win a league title.

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Manuel Dos Santos: AS Monaco 1994-7, 2006-7, SL Benfica 2004-5

The Cape Verde-born left back was a fixture in Ligue 1 for a decade, having also played for Montpellier, Marseille and Strasbourg, but as a product of Monaco's academy and later the manager of their youth teams, he is inextricably linked to the Principality side. In all, he played more than 300 in times in Ligue 1, including helping Les Monégasques to the title in 1996-7.

Florentino Luis: SL Benfica 2016-, AS Monaco 2020-21

The only current member of either side to have played for tomorrow's opponents, Luis has blossomed into Portugal into an accomplished central midfielder. While he failed to make much of an impact during his loan spell in Monaco, he has helped the Lisbon side win a pair of league titles and is a likely starter tomorrow.

Read more:

>> UCL Recap: Dembélé leads PSG past Brest

>> Ismaël Bennacer: Meet OM's new midfielder

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