- 14 hours ago
Goncalo Ramos: Portugal's World Cup hero a transfer target for PSG
Karan Tejwani
- Updated: 7 Dec 2022 14:30 GMT
- 3 min read
Goncalo Ramos had a starring role in Portugal’s last-16 World Cup win over Switzerland, netting a hat-trick and providing one assist to help his side to a mammoth 6-1 win.
There was plenty of chatter around Ramos’ involvement given he didn’t have a big reputation with the Portuguese national team and was replacing their all-time top scorer in Cristiano Ronaldo.
But, he responded to doubters in the perfect way and enabled Portugal’s path to the quarter-finals, where they are set to take on Morocco.
READ: Goncalo Ramos: Man Utd must make Portugal star Ronaldo’s replacement
As soon as the game ended, there was already speculation about his future, but one European club already identified his potential in the past: Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG were interested in Ramos
PSG were keen to make a move for the Portuguese star in the summer transfer window but were not able to get a deal over the line in time.
They ended up signing Hugo Ekitike from Reims instead, a player with high potential and are hoping they won’t regret missing out on Ramos.
READ: Who is Goncalo Ramos? Ronaldo's successor for Portugal and Darwin's for Benfica
Benfica were keen to keep Ramos at their club over the summer having already lost Darwin Nunez to Benfica in the summer and will be able to chase another big fee for Ramos when the time comes for him to leave.
He has had a flying start to the season for his club, repaying the faith shown in him, as the 21-year-old has netted 14 goals in 21 appearances for the Lisbon club this season.
Goncalo Ramos has scored more goals in the knockout stages of World Cups than Cristiano Ronaldo.
— Richard Jolly 🇺🇦 (@RichJolly) December 6, 2022
As a result, other clubs are starting to show interest in him, with Manchester United closely following him in this campaign as they look to solve their attacking issues.
It’s believed that Ramos’ release clause at Benfica stands at a hefty €120 million, so if any club wants to sign him in the future, they will have to fork out a fee close to that sum to get the Portuguese side into negotiations.
