Kaloyan Kostov signs with Benfica

Kaloyan Kostov, a central defender from Septemvri Sofia and a member of the Bulgarian U19 National Team, has signed his first professional contract with Benfica.

Born in 2004, Kostov is known for his football intelligence, ball-carrying confidence, positional awareness, and aerial ability. At the age of 15, he earned a call-up to the Bulgarian U19 National Team. He is multilingual, fluent in English and German, and is currently studying Portuguese. Kostov exemplifies the successful integration of academics and athletics, having attended the prestigious 73rd Sofia School “Vladislav Gramatik” (Second German High School).

Benfica secured Kostov’s signature amidst strong interest from clubs such as Manchester United, Inter Milan and Juventus. The Portuguese club’s commitment to youth development and its track record of promoting players to the first team proved decisive. This season, Benfica’s U19 team reached the UEFA Youth League final, defeating Liverpool, Dinamo Zagreb, and Ajax along the way. Benfica has twice been recognized as the world’s best academy in the past five years.

Notable Benfica Academy Graduates:

  • João Félix (Atlético Madrid)
  • Luka Jović (Real Madrid)
  • Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid)
  • Renato Sanches (Lille)
  • Nélson Semedo (Barcelona)
  • Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
  • João Cancelo (Manchester City)
  • Ederson (Manchester City)
  • Victor Lindelöf (Manchester United)
  • André Gomes (Everton)
  • Ivan Cavaleiro (Fulham)
  • Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia)
  • Hélder Costa (Leeds)

Campionia hopes that Kaloyan Kostov will join this distinguished list. The agency acknowledges the contributions of numerous individuals to Kostov’s development, including: Rumen Galabov, Rumen Pavlov, Ivan Geshev, Andrey Andreev, Adrian Botsev, Lyubomir Bojankov, Ventsislav Velinov, Marcho Dafchev, Georgi Georgiev, Angel Stoykov, Teodor Tashkov, Hristo Arangelov, and the administration and management of FC Septemvri. The agency also thanks Rumen Stoyanov and Evgeni Yordanov.

Finally, Campionia expresses its sincere gratitude to the Kostov family for their trust and support.