According to Rudy Galetti, Benfica was interested in Rodrigo Zalazar but hesitated because of Braga’s demands and the midfielder’s salary requests. This hesitation allowed Sporting to act decisively.

Benfica had been prepared to pay €20 million for Rodrigo Zalazar, a 26-year-old Uruguayan central midfielder from Braga, but that information is no longer current. The player will instead transfer to Sporting, a club within the Portuguese league, for €30 million. The operation is described as being practically closed. In a separate transaction, Diogo Travassos will move to Braga. Zalazar has 7 caps and 2 goals for Uruguay. He transferred from Schalke to Braga in July 2023 for a reported fee of €6 million. In 2025, there were reports of offers in the range of €20-22 million.