Rafael Leão


Rafael Alexandre Conceição Leão is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Italian club A.C. Milan as a forward.

Club career

Sporting

Born in Almada, Setúbal District of Angolan descent, Leão joined Sporting CP's youth system at the age of 9 after a brief spell in Amora FC. 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 S.C. 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 C.D. 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 1–2 away loss to FC Porto– in the process, he became the club's youngest-ever scorer against that opposition.
On 14 June 2018, Leão unilaterally terminated his contract at the Estádio José Alvalade, citing an incident where players and staff had been attacked by fans during training.

Lille

On 8 August 2018, Leão joined French club Lille OSC on a free transfer, signing a five-year deal. He scored his first Ligue 1 goal in only his second appearance, playing 67 minutes and helping the hosts beat Stade Malherbe Caen 1–0.
During his spell, Leão shared teams with compatriots José Fonte, Rui Fonte, Edgar Ié and Xeka.

Milan

On 1 August 2019, Leão signed a five-year contract at A.C. Milan. He made his Serie A debut 24 days later, as a 75th-minute substitute for Samu Castillejo in a 1–0 away defeat Udinese Calcio, and scored his first goal as a late consolation in a 3–1 home loss to ACF Fiorentina on 29 September.

International career

On 10 November 2017, aged only 18, Leão won his first cap for the Portugal under-21 side, playing 31 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Romania for the 2019 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. He scored his first goal at that level on 10 September 2019, in a 2–0 victory in Belarus for the 2021 European Championship qualification campaign.

Style of play

Leão drew comparisons to French player Kylian Mbappé, being called the 'Portuguese Mbappe'. Tiago Fernandes, who worked with him at the Sporting youth academy, told French newspaper L'Équipe that in his opinion the player was better than Cristiano Ronaldo at the same stage. Jorge Jesus, who later coached him in the first team, said that Leão reminded him of former club striker Rui Jordão. Stefano Pioli, AC Milan coach since October 2019, saw Leão as a supporting striker or a winger on either side of the pitch, rather than an out-and-out striker.

Career statistics

Club