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Rafael Leão
Rafael Alexandre da Conceição Leão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɐfɐˈɛl ˈljɐ̃w]; born 10 June 1999) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Serie A club AC Milan and the Portugal national team. He is known for his dribbling and speed.
Graduating from Sporting CP youth system, Leão made his first-team debut in 2018, winning the 2017–18 Taça da Liga, before unilaterally terminating his contract, following an incident involving a violent mob of ultras fans within the club's facilities. Shortly after, he joined for Ligue 1 side Lille on a free transfer. AC Milan signed him in 2019 for a reported fee of €35 million. He won the 2021–22 Serie A, was voted the 2021–22 Serie A Most Valuable Player, and won the 2024–25 Supercoppa Italiana.
Leão is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at various youth levels, being part of the under-17 team that won the 2016 European Championship. He made his senior international debut in 2021, and was part of Portugal's squads at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024. He won the UEFA Nations League in 2025.
Leão was born on 10 June 1999 in Almada, Portugal, a city located in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The son of an Angolan father and a São Toméan mother who met in mainland Portugal, he was raised in Amora and has three siblings. His paternal surname means "lion" in the Portuguese language.
Leão joined Sporting CP's youth system at the age of 10 after a brief spell in Amora and Foot 21. On 21 May 2017, still a junior, he made his senior debut with the reserves, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring in a 1–1 away draw against Braga B.
Courtesy of manager Jorge Jesus, Leão first appeared in the Primeira Liga with the first team on 11 February 2018, replacing Bryan Ruiz for the last 21 minutes of the 2–0 home win over Feirense. On 2 March, having taken the place of injured Seydou Doumbia late into the first half, he equalised for the visitors a few minutes after taking the pitch but in a 2–1 away loss to Porto– in the process, he became the club's youngest-ever scorer against that opposition.
On 14 June 2018, Leão unilaterally terminated his contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal, citing the May 2018 attack where players and staff of Sporting were brutally attacked by a mob of about 50 club supporters on the premises of Sporting's training facility in Alcochete.
On 8 August 2018, Leão joined French club Lille on a free transfer, signing a five-year deal. Sporting CP would later dispute Lille's deal to sign the player, deeming the transfer "unacceptable", filing a complaint with FIFA and claiming the €45 million of his release clause. At the beginning of September 2018, Leão wanted to terminate his contract with the club, after his transfer was not approved by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), due to sanctions imposed by the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG), following Lille's financial difficulties. After being convinced by his representative to stay at Lille, the DNCG validated Lille's pending contracts, including the contract of Leão.
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Rafael Leão
Rafael Alexandre da Conceição Leão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɐfɐˈɛl ˈljɐ̃w]; born 10 June 1999) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Serie A club AC Milan and the Portugal national team. He is known for his dribbling and speed.
Graduating from Sporting CP youth system, Leão made his first-team debut in 2018, winning the 2017–18 Taça da Liga, before unilaterally terminating his contract, following an incident involving a violent mob of ultras fans within the club's facilities. Shortly after, he joined for Ligue 1 side Lille on a free transfer. AC Milan signed him in 2019 for a reported fee of €35 million. He won the 2021–22 Serie A, was voted the 2021–22 Serie A Most Valuable Player, and won the 2024–25 Supercoppa Italiana.
Leão is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at various youth levels, being part of the under-17 team that won the 2016 European Championship. He made his senior international debut in 2021, and was part of Portugal's squads at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024. He won the UEFA Nations League in 2025.
Leão was born on 10 June 1999 in Almada, Portugal, a city located in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The son of an Angolan father and a São Toméan mother who met in mainland Portugal, he was raised in Amora and has three siblings. His paternal surname means "lion" in the Portuguese language.
Leão joined Sporting CP's youth system at the age of 10 after a brief spell in Amora and Foot 21. On 21 May 2017, still a junior, he made his senior debut with the reserves, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring in a 1–1 away draw against Braga B.
Courtesy of manager Jorge Jesus, Leão first appeared in the Primeira Liga with the first team on 11 February 2018, replacing Bryan Ruiz for the last 21 minutes of the 2–0 home win over Feirense. On 2 March, having taken the place of injured Seydou Doumbia late into the first half, he equalised for the visitors a few minutes after taking the pitch but in a 2–1 away loss to Porto– in the process, he became the club's youngest-ever scorer against that opposition.
On 14 June 2018, Leão unilaterally terminated his contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal, citing the May 2018 attack where players and staff of Sporting were brutally attacked by a mob of about 50 club supporters on the premises of Sporting's training facility in Alcochete.
On 8 August 2018, Leão joined French club Lille on a free transfer, signing a five-year deal. Sporting CP would later dispute Lille's deal to sign the player, deeming the transfer "unacceptable", filing a complaint with FIFA and claiming the €45 million of his release clause. At the beginning of September 2018, Leão wanted to terminate his contract with the club, after his transfer was not approved by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), due to sanctions imposed by the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG), following Lille's financial difficulties. After being convinced by his representative to stay at Lille, the DNCG validated Lille's pending contracts, including the contract of Leão.
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