David Luiz will have to take a £38,0000-a-week pay-cut to secure his dream move back to Benfica.
Arsenal ’s Brazilian defender is still waiting for the Gunners to tell him if they will be triggering a one-year extension to the deal he signed when he moved to the Emirates from Chelsea for £8million.
Luiz has confirmed that he has already spoken to Benfica Luis Filipe Vieira about a return to the Stadium of Light, nine years after he joined Chelsea for the first time in a £22million move.
But the Lisbon club have a salary cap of £32,000-a-week.
And that means Luiz would see his wages slashed by more than half if he goes back to Portugal.
The 33-year-old centre-back revealed that he has already opened talks with Benfica – and that he intends to return to the club at some point in his career.
Luiz said: “I have already spoken with Vieira about the return. My dream is to end my career at Benfica. When, I don’t know, but it will happen.
“It will, if president Vieira allows me - and if the fans want me to come back. It will be one of the most beautiful moments of my career.”
Luiz has played 32 times in all competitions for Arsenal since moving across London, scoring twice.
At Chelsea, he won the Premier League, two FA Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League and also picked up two league titles, the Coupe de France twice and the Coupe de la Ligue at Paris Saint-Germain.
