Jan Virgili was a key figure in the U-20 Intercontinental Cup in which, unfortunately, FC Barcelona Atlètic fell in a penalty shootout against Flamengo at the Maracanã stadium.
The 19-year-old winger scored a goal and had an outstanding performance after several individual plays that broke the Brazilian team's defense. His outstanding performance has sparked the interest of other clubs in Europe, jeopardizing his arrival at RCD Mallorca.
Benfica enters fully into the bidding war for Jan Virgili
Despite the fact that negotiations between Barça and Mallorca have been progressing, the youth player has caught the attention of other clubs after his outstanding performance at the Maracanã. According to the most recent information, Benfica has also shown interest in the player and the Catalan club is now hesitant to close the deal with Mallorca.
In addition, Mallorca has not yet presented an offer that satisfies the demands of the Blaugrana team, which hopes to receive 4 million for 50% of the sporting rights of the forward, with a 'low cost' buy-back clause.
However, the Vermilion team, for now, does not seem willing to offer more than 2 'kilos' for Virgili. Now, given Benfica's interest, Barcelona is considering new options with the player.
Similarly, Benfica is presented as a much more interesting destination. The 'Eagles' hope to compete fully in 25/26 to regain the trophy of the Portuguese league and are one victory away (at home against Fenerbahce) from returning to the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. In that sense, the player trained at La Masia would have a brutal showcase to display his quality this season.
Barça's dilemma with Jan Virgili's future
However, Barça is determined to let Jan go, since he has no place in the first team and keeping the winger in Barça Atlètic would represent a stagnation for his football development after the relegation to the Second Federation of the culé subsidiary.
Although Hansi Flick is characterized by giving opportunities to the talents of La Masia, with Raphinha, Marcus Rashford and Fermín López himself in the squad, there is no room to even give residual minutes to any kid.
For his part, the coach of the 'vermilions', Jagoba Arraste, would have already contacted Virgili to convince him to come to Son Moix. The only competition he would have in Palma is Javi Llabrés for the left wing, so the chances of adding many minutes in the first division are very high.
The player born in Vilassar de Mar has the qualities that the Mallorcan coach is looking for: speed, imbalance, overflow and verticality, adding to that a great associative game and remarkable hitting.
The azulgrana youth player has a contract until June 2027 and is listed at around 3 million euros in 'Transfermarkt'. Would Mallorca be the right team for Jan Virgili to develop as a footballer? Should Barça negotiate directly with Benfica?