Joao Palhinha (foto: uradna spletna stran kluba)
João Palhinha is reportedly ready to reject Premier League interest and join Benfica, with Bayern potentially losing more than €30m on the midfielder.
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Bayern Munich are preparing to end their unsuccessful relationship with João Palhinha, and the German champions are set to suffer a significant financial loss in the process.
The Portuguese midfielder arrived in Munich from Fulham after Euro 2024 in a transfer worth approximately €51 million, but his move to the Allianz Arena never developed as Bayern had hoped.
Palhinha struggled to establish himself as an important first-team player and eventually spent last season on loan at Tottenham.
He has now returned to Bayern, but the 31-year-old does not feature prominently in the club's plans for the new campaign.
Bayern have therefore been searching for a permanent solution, and one now appears to have emerged in Portugal.
Palhinha is reportedly moving closer to joining Benfica, where he would work with Marco Silva.
Silva's presence is believed to be one of the decisive factors behind the midfielder's preference for Benfica despite interest from Premier League clubs.
Aston Villa and Newcastle United have both been mentioned as possible destinations for Palhinha, which would have offered him another opportunity to return to English football.
The Portugal international, though, reportedly prefers a return to his homeland and the opportunity to work with Silva.
The two know each other extremely well from their time together at Fulham. Under Silva, Palhinha developed into one of the Premier League's most highly regarded defensive midfielders and eventually earned his lucrative transfer to Bayern.
A move to Benfica would also represent an interesting chapter because of Palhinha's history in Lisbon.
He developed at Sporting CP and established himself as a major player there before moving to Fulham in 2022. A switch to Sporting's great city rivals would therefore attract considerable attention in Portuguese football.
For Bayern, the financial side of the operation is far less attractive.
The German club reportedly paid around €51m to sign Palhinha, but Benfica's proposed deal is expected to be worth only €15m in guaranteed compensation plus another €5m in bonuses.
Even if every bonus is eventually activated, Bayern would recover only €20m from their original investment.
That would leave the Bundesliga giants with a transfer-fee difference of approximately €31m. If only the guaranteed amount is considered, the difference rises to €36m.
There would still be a financial benefit for Bayern. A permanent transfer would remove Palhinha's salary from their wage bill and finally resolve the future of a player who no longer has a significant role in Munich.
The outcome is nevertheless disappointing considering how long Bayern pursued the Portuguese midfielder.
The Bavarians initially attempted to sign Palhinha from Fulham in the summer of 2023. The transfer famously collapsed at the final stage, despite the midfielder travelling to Munich, because Fulham were unable to secure a suitable replacement.
Bayern returned for him one year later and finally completed the transfer, but the move never produced the impact expected from such a significant investment.
Palhinha now appears ready to return to Portuguese football, where the presence of Marco Silva could allow him to rediscover the form that originally persuaded Bayern to spend more than €50m on him.
For Bayern, meanwhile, the priority is increasingly simple: accept the financial loss, remove his salary from the books and close one of the club's least successful recent transfer operations.