Dodi Lukebakio: From AC Milan Talks to Benfica Stardom
There was a moment, not so long ago, when Dodi Lukebakio might have been celebrating under the Curva Sud rather than silencing it.
Back in August 2025, as recalled by La Gazzetta dello Sport, AC Milan were reshaping their squad and casting the net wide. Talks with Marseille for Adrien Rabiot were on the table. Another name quietly circled on the list: Dodi Lukebakio. The then-management, led by Igli Tare, sounded out the possibility.
Milan had reasons to move fast. The Conrad Harder deal had collapsed, Samuel Chukwueze was on his way to Fulham, and the club needed a new wide threat. Lukebakio fit the brief: coming off an 11-goal season with Sevilla in Spain, a left-footed winger with pace, flexibility, and a taste for the spectacular.
Quick, slippery, and ruthless when he opens his body to shoot – those traits are no longer just scouting notes for Milan. Davide Bartesaghi learned them the hard way at San Siro on Wednesday night. Too well, in fact.
The move never happened. Talks didn’t progress, Milan turned elsewhere, and Lukebakio’s path veered away from Serie A.
He left Spain and, in early September, signed for Benfica in a deal worth around €25m, committing to a five-year contract with a €50m release clause. While Milan chose a different route, the Belgian chose Lisbon – and now he’s punishing the road not taken.
His signature move is no secret. A natural left-footer, he starts wide, shapes to go down the line, then slices inside, hunting either a whipped cross or a curling shot towards the far post. That exact pattern unfolded under the San Siro floodlights, his opening goal a textbook Lukebakio strike that cut straight through Milan’s defensive line and straight into their what-if file.
At 28, his passport tells its own story. Belgium, England, Germany, Spain, now Portugal. A career built on constant movement, constant adaptation. For the Belgian national team he has already racked up 33 caps and six goals, a steady presence in a golden generation.
He knows how to fill a scoresheet too. Double figures in a single season with Hertha Berlin, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Sevilla underline a consistent threat rather than a one-off purple patch.
Now the question hangs over Lisbon and beyond: with Benfica feeding his strengths and his confidence sharpened by nights like this at San Siro, is he about to hit those double digits yet again – this time on the biggest stage of his career?
