Diego Moreira confirmed his intentions were never to leave Benfica when he chose to join Chelsea back in the summer of 2023.

Diego Moreira has yet to stabilise his career since leaving Benfica, as he’s gone to several clubs without much success. The winger was a highly-rated prospect while coming through the ranks at the Portuguese side, but Chelsea’s interest took a different turn for the attacker.

Having made the switch to the Blues back in 2023, Moreira never really made the grade into the first team as things did go against wider expectations. He ended up playing for the first team only once and was a regular for the U-21 side at the club.

He has now come out and stated the idea was never to leave Benfica as his comments on O Jogo state he wanted to stay with the Portuguese giants. He did state that had it been any other club other than Chelsea he would have rejected the idea and stayed put.

Moreira said, “To be honest, I didn’t want to leave, but then, in football, we have to think not only about ourselves but also about our family,”

“There were negotiations, but unfortunately, they didn’t work out. Football is like that, there are no hard feelings.

“I carry Benfica in my heart. It was three years, three years that changed my life, because, thanks to Benfica, I went to Chelsea. If it had been at another club, maybe I wouldn’t have gone.”

Moreira has gone on to be a regular at Strasbourg this season, making 29 Ligue 1 appearances this season. However, before that, he moved on loan to Lyon for a period and generally was not seen as a key star over there.

Strasbourg and Chelsea are owned by the same ownership, which probably made it easier for the former to get the business done rather swiftly. The French side paid around 8.5 million for the winger, who has found his feet at the club.

Meanwhile, there might be some hope for the future in Moreira’s career as he could still find a way back to Chelsea if the Premier League side deem his progress as enough. For now, he will look to stabilise his career at Strasbourg and push on from here.