Erdal Rakip, international for Macedonia, broke his silence about his “invisible” spell at Benfica. The midfielder, who joined the Reds in 2017 from Malmo, disclosed all the controversy involved in his time at Luz. «When I arrived at Benfica I immediately realized that things were not as I had imagined. I was signed as a free player after finishing the season at Malmö, but I felt there was no sporting plan for me. I barely had time to see the facilities and there was already talk of letting me borrow it. Benfica decided that I should go to Crystal Palace to gain experience. I accepted because I wanted to play, but the truth is that Benfica only sent me there because they wanted to 'put' me somewhere. When the loan in England ended and I didn't play, my return to Benfica was a nightmare", he began by saying in an interview with the podcast «Lundh». Rakip ended up being loaned to Crystal Palace, in England. Upon his return, his ambition was to finally assert himself in the Light. However, he quickly saw that dream being nipped in the bud. «When I returned from London, I was completely sidelined. The club simply 'froze' me. I didn't train with the main team, they sent me to train alone or with players they also wanted to send away. It was a very difficult situation. You feel like a prisoner, you're at a big club, in a fantastic city, but they don't let you be what you want: a football player. It was tragic. Me and about five or six other players were taken aside. We couldn't train with the main team, nor with the B team. We trained at different times, sometimes alone or with a coach who wasn't even from the club. We couldn't use the main locker room or eat in the cafeteria at the same time as everyone else. They wanted us to feel bad to force a way out», he shot. The Moldovan pointed out Benfica's stance as a “dirty game”. The player, who did not even have any contact with Rui Vitória (coach at the time), admitted that Benfica pressured the players to accept offers. Anyone who didn't give in was punished... in the harshest way possible. “They tried to break you psychologically. They said: 'You have this offer from this club, you have to accept it'. If I said it wasn't a good step for my career, the answer was: 'Then you'll continue training separately'. It's a form of dirty play. At Benfica, if you're not in the plans, you go from star to nobody in a second", he began by saying. «Nobody spoke to me. There was no explanation from the coach or directors. I was there, I kept my schedule, but it was as if I were invisible. They wanted me to give up the money to let me leave. It's a very cold side of professional football that people don't see. I never had a real opportunity to show what I was worth in training with the group. The coach [Rui Vitória] he didn't even talk to us. We were just there to fulfill the contract until someone gave in. It's a huge club, with a fantastic structure, but the way they treat players they don't want is very harsh", he added. Erdal Rakip is currently without a club. After the controversy, he left Benfica there, with money to receive, without having the opportunity to make his debut. He returned to Malmo where he spent four more seasons with the Swedes. In the last three seasons he represented Antalyaspor, from Türkiye. Still, at the end of it all, the Montenegrin international is not entirely regretting heading to Lisbon in 2017. «To finally get out of that situation at Benfica, I had to give up a considerable part of what I had to receive under the contract. It was the price to pay for my freedom and to be able to play again and be happy in Malmö. It was an expensive but necessary lesson. Do I regret it? It's hard to say. Benfica is one of the biggest clubs in the world, it was a dream. But seeing how things went and the way I was treated, of course I wish it had been different. I learned a lot about the dark side of football", he concluded.
