 Leão withPortugal in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Rafael Alexandre da Conceição Leão[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1999-06-10)10 June 1999 (age 25)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Almada, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left winger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Milan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Amora | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Foot 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2017 | Sporting CP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Sporting CP B | 12 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Sporting CP | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Lille | 24 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | AC Milan | 193 | (53) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Portugal U16 | 10 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Portugal U17 | 11 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Portugal U19 | 17 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Portugal U20 | 8 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | Portugal U21 | 15 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Portugal | 39 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:43, 6 April 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:43, 23 March 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rafael Alexandre da Conceição Leão (Portuguese pronunciation:[ʁɐfɐˈɛlˈljɐ̃w]; born 10 June 1999) is a Portuguese professionalfootballer who plays as aleft winger forSerie A clubAC Milan and thePortugal national team. He is known for his dribbling and speed.[2][3][4]
Graduating fromSporting CP youth system, Leão made his first-team debut in 2018, winning the2017–18 Taça da Liga, before unilaterally terminating his contract, following an incident involving a violent mob ofultras fans within the club's facilities. Shortly after, he joined forLigue 1 sideLille on a free transfer. AC Milan signed him in 2019 for a reported fee of €35 million, winning the2021–22 Serie A, while also being voted theSerie A Most Valuable Player.
Leão is a formerPortugal youth international, representing his country at various youth levels, being part ofthe under-17 team that won the2016 European Championship. He made his senior international debut in 2021, and was part of Portugal's squads at the2022 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2024.
Leão was born on(1999-06-10)10 June 1999 inAlmada, Portugal, a city located in theLisbon Metropolitan Area.[5][6] The son of anAngolan father and aSão Toméan mother who met in mainland Portugal, he was raised inAmora and has three siblings.[7] His paternal surname means "lion" in thePortuguese language.[7]
Leão joinedSporting CP's youth system at the age of 9 after a brief spell inAmora and Foot 21.[7][8][9] On 21 May 2017, still a junior, he made his senior debut withthe reserves, coming on as a second-halfsubstitute and scoring in a 1–1 away draw againstBraga B.[10]
Courtesy of managerJorge Jesus, Leão first appeared in thePrimeira Liga with the first team on 11 February 2018, replacingBryan Ruiz for the last 21 minutes of the 2–0 home win overFeirense.[11][12] On 2 March, having taken the place of injuredSeydou 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 toPorto[13]– in the process, he became the club's youngest-ever scorer against that opposition.[14]
On 14 June 2018, Leão unilaterally terminated his contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal,[15] citing the May 2018[16] attack where players and staff of Sporting were brutally attacked by a mob of about 50 club supporters on the premises ofSporting's training facility inAlcochete.[17][18]
On 8 August 2018, Leão joined French clubLille on afree transfer, signing a five-year deal.[19] Sporting CP would later dispute Lille's deal to sign the player, deeming the transfer "unacceptable", filing a complaint withFIFA and claiming the €45 million of his release clause.[20] At the beginning of September 2018, Leão wanted to terminate his contract with the club, after his transfer was not approved by theLigue de Football Professionnel (LFP), due to sanctions imposed by theDirection Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG), following Lille's financial difficulties.[21][22] After being convinced by his representative to stay at Lille, the DNCG validated Lille's pending contracts, including the contract of Leão.[23]
Leão made his competitive debut on 30 September 2018, replacingLoïc Rémy in the 78th minute, in a 3–0 home win overMarseille.[24] He scored his firstLigue 1 goal in only his second appearance, playing 67 minutes and helping the hosts defeatCaen in a 1–0 victory.[25] On 1 February 2019, he scored his sixth goal of the season and made an assist toNicolas Pépé, his first for the club, in a 4–0 home win overNice.[26]
During his spell, Leão scored a total of eight goals in 26 competitive games, being mainly used as a striker by Lille coachChristophe Galtier, and shared teams with compatriotsJosé Fonte,Rui Fonte,Edgar Ié andXeka, as they finished as runners-up in a brilliant2018–19 Ligue 1 season.[27]
On 1 August 2019, Leão signed a five-year contract atAC Milan for a fee of €35 million plus a 20% sell-on clause.[28][29] He made hisSerie A debut on 25 August, replacingSamu Castillejo in 75th-minute in a 1–0 away defeat toUdinese.[30] Leão scored his first goal of the club, as a late consolation in a 1–3 home loss toFiorentina on 29 September.[31] On 19 March 2020, theCourt of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) condemned Leão to pay €16.5 million to Sporting CP for his unilateral breach of contract.[32] On 7 July, Leão scored a goal against league-leadersJuventus, to help Milan to a 4–2 win, after being down by two goals. At the end of the season, he had scored six goals in 31 league matches, helping Milan to a sixth-place finish and a 10-match unbeaten streak.[33]
At the beginning of thefollowing season, on 4 October, Leão scored a brace in a 3–0 home victory atSan Siro againstSpezia.[34] On 29 October, he scored his first goal in European competitions, in a 3–0 home group stage victory in theUEFA Europa League againstSparta Prague.[35] He scored the fastest goal in the history of Serie A and inEurope's top-five leagues, after six seconds on 20 December atSassuolo; the match ended 2–1 for his team.[36]
On 3 January 2021, he scored the second goal against Benevento in eventual 2–0 away win, becoming the second youngest foreign player (21 years and 207 days) to score more than ten goals for Milan in Serie A, afterAlexandre Pato (19 years and 19 days).[37]
At the start of the2021–22 season, on 29 August, Leão scored the first goal from a shot outside the box, in a 4–1 home victory againstCagliari atSan Siro.[38] On 15 September, on in hisUEFA Champions League debut, he provided an assist forAnte Rebić in a 3–2 away defeat toLiverpool;[39] and on 28 September, he scored his first goal in the competition in a 2–1 home loss againstAtlético Madrid.[40]
On 9 February 2022, Leão opened the score sheet againstLazio and assisted the second goal,[41] being directly involved in 14 goals in the season, surpassing his record during his career in Europe's the top 5 leagues.[42] Four days later, in his 100th appearance for Milan, he scored the only goal in 1–0 win against Sampdoria, which put Milan in the top of the league table.[43][44] On 25 February, he scored his eighth league goal of the season against Udinese, in an eventual 1–1 draw, becoming in the process the second player to score in each of the seven days of a week in Serie A with AC Milan, afterAndriy Shevchenko.[45][46]
On 1 May, Leão scored the winner in a 1–0 win against Fiorentina, becoming the youngest Portuguese to score at least 10 goals in a single Serie A campaign.[47] Seven days later, Leão's two assists toSandro Tonali helped his team come from behind to defeatHellas Verona 3–1 away from home, allowing his side to overtakerivalsInter at the top of the Serie A table.[48][49] On 22 May, he provided a hat-trick of assists for the first time in his career as Milan beatSassuolo 3–0 away from home to win their first Serie A title in eleven years.[50] At the end of the season, Leão was awarded theSerie A MVP award for the2021–22 season, finishing the campaign with 11 goals and 10 assists.[51] Leão also established himself as one of the best dribblers (186) in Serie A and the 3rd best among European players afterVinícius Júnior (210) andAllan Saint-Maximin (205).[52][53]
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Leão started the2022–23 season by scoring and providing an assist in a 2–0 home win againstBologna on 27 August.[54] On 3 September, on his 100th appearance in Serie A, he scored a brace and provided an assist toOlivier Giroud in a 3–2 win against crosstown rivals Inter in theDerby della Madonnina; his second goal won him the Serie A Goal of the Month award for September.[55] On 10 September, Leão wassent off for the first time in his club career, after being booked twice, for violent conduct (kicking the head ofAlex Ferrari, while attempting to perform an acrobaticbicycle kick) early in the second half of Milan's 2–1 win overSampdoria.[56] During this time, in October, Leão was one of the 30 candidates who was nominated for the2022Ballon d'Or, being placed 14th place in the voting polls, the highest Portuguese player ranked in the voting list.[57] Later that month, Leão was namedSerie A Player of the Month.[58]
On 2 April 2023, Leão scored a brace in a 4–0 away win over league leadersNapoli, to be the latter's biggest defeat since losing 5–1 toAtalanta in the 2007–08 season.[59][60] On 18 April, he provided an assist to Olivier Giroud following a solo run, to be later named player of the match,[61] in a 1–1 away draw against the same opponent in the2022–23 UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg, which secured his team's progress to the semi-final, by winning 2–1 on aggregate, for the first time since the 2006–07 season.[62][63] Being injured and withdrawing from the semi-final first leg against Inter, he played in the 1–0 second leg loss and witnessed arch-rivals booking a place in the Champions League final for the first time since 2010.[64]
Two days before the 2022–23 season final round, Leão extended his contract with AC Milan until 2028.[65] According to various columnists and reporters, the financial details of his contract include an annual income of €5 to €7 million per season (depending on add-ons), a €1.5 millionsigning bonus and a €175 millionrelease clause that can be activated only during the summer transfer windows.[66][67][68][69] Previous Leão's club Lille also kept a sell-on clause and an interest throughout a future transfer deal.[70][71] Furthermore, the French side agreed to help the deal along and pay €19.6 million, out of a total €20.6 million fee, as a compensation to Sporting CP whereas Leão paid the remaining one million, for the termination of his contract with them. A payment AC Milan committed to refund to Lille up to 90% of the overall amount.[71][72][73]
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Prior to the2023–24 season, Leão was given the squad number 10 following the departure ofBrahim Díaz, who returned from his loan spell fromReal Madrid, the club's previous number 10.[74] The shirt had also previously been worn in the Serie A by former Milan players, most notablyClarence Seedorf,Gianni Rivera,Roberto Baggio,Rui Costa, andRuud Gullit.[75]
Leão scored his first goal of the new season on 1 September, netting an acrobaticbicycle kick in a 2–1 home league win overRoma.[76] On 23 September, he captained Milan for the first time in a home win overHellas Verona, scoring the first goal of a 1–0 win.[77] Over the following months, Leão was criticized for his performances, most notably in Milan'sChampions League group stage match againstNewcastle United, which ended in a 0–0 draw. However, Leão regained his form in the month of November, scoring his second bicycle kick of the season in 2–1 win overParis Saint-Germain on matchday four of the group stage of the Champions League on 9 November, which later helped them qualify to theEuropa League knock-out round play-offs, after they finished third in their group, although Leão missed their last group stage matches due to a hamstring injury.[78][79]
In the Europa League, Leão helped his team reach the quarter finals of the competition, scoring two goals in the knockout round play-offs againstRennes in a 5–3 aggregate win.[80] In theround of 16, he scored one goal and provided two assists in a 7–3 aggregate win overSlavia Praga, helping Milan reach the quarter finals of the competition.[81][82] On 30 March, Leão made his 200th appearance for the club, scoring and assisting in a 2–1 away win over Fiorentina.[83] On 5 May, Leão was whistled by sections of the Milan fans upon being substituted againstGenoa, after which he headed straight to the dressing room. On 11 May, Leão came on as a substitute and scored and assisted in a 5–1 win overCagliari to become the second fastest player to reach 50 goals and 50 assists for the club afterKaká.[84][85][86] Leão created the most big chances (18) in the2023–24 Serie A and finished the season as Serie A's top assist provider, alongsidePaulo Dybala with 9 assists and scored 9 goals, being named in the Serie A Team of the Season.[87]
Starting the new season, Leão began a rift with new managerPaulo Fonseca, due to Fonseca's dissatisfaction with Leão's off-the-ball work rate and defensive contributions. As Milan struggled for form in Serie A, Fonseca opted to bench Leão for several matches, favoring players likeNoah Okafor, who were perceived to offer more balance to the team's structure.[88] The turning point in the relationship between Leão and Fonseca was during Milan'sChampions League league phase match againstReal Madrid on 5 November, where he assisted the third goal in a 3–1 win at theSantiago Bernabéu.[89] Four days later, he scored twice in a 3–3 draw againstCagliari, netting his 50th Serie A goal in the process, with his last brace for the club being in June 2023.[90][91] On 13 November, while he was away on international duty for Portugal, he confirmed he and Fonseca had settled their issues.[92]
On 6 January 2025 Leão won the2024 Supercoppa Italiana against rivals Inter Milan, under the new coach,Sergio Conceição (who replacedPaulo Fonseca). after coming on as a substitute, he created both winning goals in an eventual 3–2 comeback victory, securing his second trophy with AC Milan.[93][94]
With thePortugal under-17s, Leão participated in the2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. In this competition, he played five out of six matches, not playing against theNetherlands in the semifinals. In the finals againstSpain, Leão replacedDomingos Quina in the 79th minute; Portugal went on to win the competition for the sixth time, following a 5–4 penalty shoot-out victory after a 1–1 draw in extra-time.[95]
With theunder-19s, Leão participated in the2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, helping finishing as runner-up, after losing in the final toEngland.[96] At the2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland he played all three games and scored the only goal in a 1–1 draw againstSouth Africa, thoughhis side did not advance from the group.[97]
On 10 November 2017, aged only 18, Leão won his firstcap for thePortugal under-21 side, playing 31 minutes in a 1–1 away draw againstRomania for the2019 UEFA European Championshipqualifiers.[98][99] He scored his first goal at that level on 10 September 2019, in a 2–0 victory inBelarus for the2021 European Championship qualification campaign.[100] In March 2021, Leão took part in the2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, helping Portugal finish as runners-up, after losing in the final 1–0 toGermany.[101]
On 5 October 2021, Leão was called up tothe senior team for the first time, as a replacement for the injuredRafa Silva.[102] Four days later, he made his international debut, replacingCristiano Ronaldo athalf-time and providing theassist forAndré Silva's goal in a 3–0friendly defeat ofQatar.[103]
In October 2022, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-mansquad for the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar,[104] being included in the final 26-man squad for the tournament.[105] On 25 November, Leão scored his first international goal, closing Portugal's 3–2 group stage win againstGhana.[106] Leão followed with a second World Cup goal on 6 December when he sealed of Portugal's 6–1 thrashing ofSwitzerland in theround of 16.[107] Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 1–0 toMorocco.[108][109]
On 21 May 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for theUEFA Euro 2024.[110] He started against theCzech Republic andTurkey, before missing the final group stage matchGeorgia, due to accumulation of yellow cards, for simulation in both matches.[111][112] He made a further two appearances againstSlovenia (3–0 victory in apenalty shootout)[113] andFrance in the knockout stage (5–3 loss in another shootout).[114]
Leão is regarded as a skillful and technical player, capable of playing on either flank, due to his versatility. Standing 1.88 metres (6 ft 2 in) tall,[115] Leão is a tall and lean player who has a burst and speed to match, making him a dynamic forward.[116] Having developed as acentre-forward at youth level and during his season at Lille, he offers a dynamic presence in the forward line. He stretches and disrupts defences with his movements, with and without the ball.[116] Leão is a prolific and proficient dribbler; he drives from deep and then overtakes players in one-on-one situations around the box with maneuvers and changes to his speed.[116] He is also capable of creating chances and providing assists for teammates from the left due to his vision.[116] Inside thepenalty area, he uses dribbles and movement to get into good positions.[116] Leão has also been played as astriker because of his composure and eye for goal.[116]
During his managerial spell at Milan,Stefano Pioli deployed Leão as asupporting striker or awinger on either side of the pitch, rather than an out-and-outstriker.[117] Operating primarily on the left-hand side of Stefano Pioli's 4–2–3–1 system, Leão gives Milan a creative spark in wide areas where he particularly is involved in one-on-one situations, with his direct style of attacking, allowing him to aggressively accelerate past the defenders, where he can create big chances and engineer good shooting opportunities for himself, as opposed to dribbling past an opponent. Due to his pace, he is effective at exploiting space and attracting multiple defenders from the opposition towards him.[118][119] Club teammateFikayo Tomori describe him as "fast, he’s strong, he can dribble, he can head the ball, he’s tall. He’s got everything".[120]
Leão drew comparisons to French playerKylian Mbappé, being called the "Portuguese Mbappe".[17] Tiago Fernandes, who worked with him at the Sporting youth academy, told French newspaperL'Équipe that in his opinion the player was better thanCristiano Ronaldo at the same stage.[121] Jesus, who later coached him in the first team, said that he reminded him of former club strikerRui Jordão.[122] Stefano Pioli and Italian managerFabio Capello compared him to formerArsenal strikerThierry Henry.[123]Portugal teammateBruno Fernandes, stated Leão reminds him of Brazilian footballerRonaldo "with his speed, technique and explosiveness in decisive moments, being qualities that have emerged every game to drag Milan towards great results.”[124]
At times, Leão had been criticized for lacking consistency in his performances, unwillingness to participate in the defensive play, as well as unnecessary flamboyance while in possession of the ball; former AC Milan and Italy national team coachArrigo Sacchi, while acknowledging the player's individual talent, called Leão a liability to the AC Milan team as a collective.[125]
Leão is also arapper and releases his music under the name WAY 45.[126][127]
In addition to his native Portuguese, Leão is fluent in English and Italian as well as French following his stint atLille.[128][129] In 2024, Leão wrote an autobiography, edited by nss sport and published by Piemme, titledSmile.[130]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP B | 2016–17 | LigaPro | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | LigaPro | 11 | 6 | — | — | — | 11 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 12 | 7 | — | — | — | 12 | 7 | |||||
| Sporting CP | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | |
| Lille | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 8 | ||
| Milan | 2019–20 | Serie A | 31 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 6 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 30 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8[b] | 1 | — | 40 | 7 | ||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 34 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 4[c] | 1 | — | 42 | 14 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 35 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 11[c] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 48 | 16 | |
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 34 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 11[e] | 4 | — | 47 | 15 | ||
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 29 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10[c] | 3 | 1[d] | 0 | 43 | 10 | |
| Total | 193 | 53 | 14 | 5 | 44 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 253 | 68 | ||
| Career total | 232 | 69 | 16 | 5 | 45 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 295 | 84 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | 13 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 14 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 5 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 November 2022 | Stadium 974,Doha, Qatar | 12 |  Ghana | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | 6 December 2022 | Lusail Iconic Stadium,Lusail, Qatar | 15 |  Switzerland | 6–1 | 6–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| 3 | 26 March 2023 | Stade de Luxembourg,Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 18 |  Luxembourg | 6–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 4 | 21 March 2024 | Estádio D. Afonso Henriques,Guimarães, Portugal | 24 |  Sweden | 1–0 | 5–2 | Friendly |
| 5 | 15 November 2024 | Estádio do Dragão,Porto, Portugal | 36 |  Poland | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A |
Sporting CP
AC Milan
Portugal U17
Portugal U19
Portugal U21
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