Tottenham and Aston Villa were looking at Anatoliy Trubin when he was Benfica’s undisputed No.1.

A few months later, the Ukrainian is trying to win his place back, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s personal trainer has become part of the story.

It’s quite a change for a goalkeeper who spent three seasons as Benfica’s first choice and attracted plenty of Premier League attention.

Leeds United also showed interest during the summer, although nothing came of it. Tottenham and Villa were the English clubs constantly linked with him, with a potential move to England looking very likely at one stage.

Instead, Trubin stayed in Lisbon. Samuel Soares has since taken his place in goal, leaving the 24-year-old with more free time than he’d like. And he’s found an interesting way of filling it.

Trubin turns to Ronaldo’s trainer – with Premier League football in mind

Portuguese newspaper Record have picked up on a lengthy interview Trubin gave to the Ukrainian YouTube channel Vacko Live.

The goalkeeper explained that, with Benfica sometimes playing only once a week, he found himself getting two days off. Without matches to recover from, he felt he could put that time to better use.

So he contacted Julerson Dias, the Brazilian trainer who works with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Dias is also associated with APEX, a company offering individual training to footballers. Its clients include Bruno Fernandes, João Cancelo, Rafael Leão, Nuno Mendes and Viktor Gyökeres.

“I started training with Cristiano Ronaldo’s personal trainer, who has a set-up that’s very popular with Premier League and La Liga players during their holidays,” he explained.

“I sent him a message asking if I could train, and we had a few sessions.”

The work was entirely focused on his feet. No diving, no falling to the ground, none of the usual goalkeeper drills. Just ball control, technique and playing with the ball at his feet.

“I feel it helps,” Trubin said.

Well, fair to say Roberto De Zerbi and Unai Emery both place considerable demands on their goalkeepers in possession. Playing out from the back is a big part of their football, and neither wants someone who looks uncomfortable with the ball… And maybe that carried some weight in the decision of not signing him in the summer.

Trubin’s decision to work on that side of his game could therefore make him a more appealing option for either manager.

Another curious Tottenham and Villa connection

The extra work doesn’t stop there. Trubin has also started training his eyesight and reactions with Portuguese sports vision specialist Patrícia Rodrigues.

The idea is to improve how quickly his eyes react and his brain processes information. And here’s another coincidence… Rodrigues has previously worked with Tottenham and Aston Villa, as well as Braga.

More importantly, all this extra training says plenty about how Trubin is dealing with his situation.

“Of course I don’t like this situation because, like any footballer, I want to play every game,” he admitted.

“But there’s a situation I have to overcome by working and taking my opportunities when I get the chance to play.”

“Everything depends on me,” he said, suggesting the experience might be teaching him something.

So back in the summer window, Benfica were reportedly looking for around €40m (£34m) for a goalkeeper playing every week. Now he’s fighting to get back into the team.

There’s no indication that Benfica have lowered their valuation, or that either English club are preparing another approach.

But Trubin’s circumstances have certainly changed. And while he’s clearly determined to reclaim his place, he’s also putting in the sort of technical work that could serve him well under De Zerbi or Emery.

ANATOLIY TRUBIN Benfica career · Appearances & clean sheets

156 appearances  |
60 clean sheets  |
38.5% clean-sheet rate  |
1 goal scored

Season	Appearances	Clean sheets	Clean-sheet %	Goals scored
2023/24	48	17	35.4%	0
2024/25	51	21	41.2%	0
2025/26	50	20	40.0%	1
2026/27*	7	2	28.6%	0
BENFICA TOTAL	156	60	38.5%	1

NOTABLE MOMENT

Champions League goal	Scored a stoppage-time header in Benfica’s 4–2 win over Real Madrid on 28 January 2026, securing a place in the knockout phase play-offs.

Scope: Senior competitive Benfica appearances across all competitions, including European qualifying matches. The 2025 Club World Cup is included in 2024/25. Friendlies and international appearances excluded.
Method: Clean-sheet percentage = clean sheets ÷ appearances, rounded to one decimal place. Completed-season clean-sheet figures follow SLBenfica.NET; current-season appearances and clean sheets follow Benfica’s official player profile. *2026/27 figures are season to date.
Updated: 11 November 2026.

SPORT WITNESS