G. Prestianni

Gianluca Prestianni was still 17 when Benfica agreed to sign him from Vélez Sarsfield, but the Portuguese club structured the deal so it would not take effect until his 18th birthday, on 31 January 2024. The fee was set at €9m plus up to €2m in add-ons for 85% of his economic rights, and Benfica tied him to a contract running to 2029 with a €100m release clause.

He had made his first-team debut for Vélez Sarsfield on 24 May 2022 and went on to play 39 matches for the Buenos Aires club, scoring three goals before the move to Portugal.

Prestianni made his Benfica debut on 17 May 2024, coming on as a substitute against Rio Ave. Since then he has appeared 59 times for the first team, scoring six goals, most of them in the Primeira Liga. He was part of the squad that won the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in 2025.

With Argentina, Prestianni progressed through the under-17s and under-20s and was runner-up at the 2025 Under-20 World Cup. The Guardian named him to its Next Generation list of the world's top 60 young players in 2023. He earned his first senior cap on 14 November 2025, against Angola.

In February 2026, Prestianni directed a homophobic insult at Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League play-off between Benfica and Real Madrid. UEFA banned him for six matches, three served immediately and three suspended for two years, in a ruling on 24 April 2026. FIFA extended the ban to international fixtures on 6 May 2026, putting his availability for Argentina's opening matches at the 2026 World Cup in doubt.