Beste reflects on short stint at Benfica and playing with Di Maria: "Couldn't talk to him" | OneFootball

Jan-Niklas Beste embarked on a real adventure when he left Heidenheim to join Portuguese giants SL Benfica last summer.

Beste signed a contract until 2029, but his time in Lisbon was short-lived and he returned to Germany after just six months to join Freiburg during the winter transfer window.

In an interview with Sport Bild, the 26-year-old explains why things didn't work out for him in Portugal.

“Portugal is a great country, Lisbon is a great city and the weather is always great,” he said.

“When I moved there I thought I'd stay there for the next five years. But I just didn't feel at home. I wanted to go back to Germany. My original plan was to stay until the summer. I didn't think it would work out in the winter. When the opportunity [to join Freiburg] came, I was really happy.”

During his time in the vibrant Portuguese capital, Beste realized that he would rather be living in a smaller town.

“A familiar and quiet environment is very important to me. The fact that you can shop in peace, go into town and have a coffee. I'm not a person who needs a lot of hustle and bustle. I go to training and am happy to come home and be a husband and father.”

The fact that Benfica's German coach Roger Schmidt was sacked out of the blue shortly after the winger's arrival didn't help matters.

“He really wanted to sign me. I heard about his sacking through the media,” revealed Beste.

“I have never experienced something like that before. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.”

Beste got the chance to play with some big names, including Argentina World Cup winner Angel Di Maria, but the language barrier was a stumbling block.

“It was crazy, of course. Di Maria has incredible quality, you could see that in every training session. And off the pitch, he was totally relaxed and easy-going,” said Beste.

“The problem was that I couldn't talk to him. It was quite difficult with the language. He didn't really speak English. But we still managed to communicate somehow.”