Leonardo Nascimento de Araújo (born 5 September 1969), known as Leonardo Araújo or simply Leonardo, is a Brazilian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

executive and former player and manager. He last served as the

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

until May 2022. A versatile player, Leonardo was employed in several positions throughout his career, including as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, and

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

; his best-known and most successful period was at

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

, in the role of attacking midfielder (or ''

trequartista A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

'') behind the forwards. He played for teams in Brazil, Spain, Japan, France and Italy, winning titles with

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name ''Antlers'' is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has fi ...

and Milan. A former

Brazil international The Brazil International is the most important international open badminton tournament of Brazil. It is held since the year 1984. Brazilian National Badminton Championships started in 1991. It is part of the BWF International Series The BWF Intern ...

, Leonardo played in the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

winning side, as well as the team that finished runners-up in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

edition of the tournament. He also represented his nation in two

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

tournaments, reaching the final in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, and winning the title in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, also claiming the

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

in the same year. Following his retirement, Leonardo also served as a coach for Italian side Milan, and successively as coach of crosstown rivals

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

, where he won a

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

title in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. From 2011 to 2013, he was sporting director of his former club

(PSG). He coached

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Antalya. The club's colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the club won the First League twice in 1982 and 1 ...

in 2017 before returning to Milan as sporting director in 2018. In 2019, Leonardo returned to PSG as sporting director, until he was sacked in 2022.

Early and personal life

Leonardo was born and raised in

Niterói Niterói (, ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forms ...

, Brazil. Divorced from his first wife with whom he had three children (one boy, two girls), he is married to

Sky Italia Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo and Sky TG24. As of 2018, following an agree ...

presenter Anna Billó, with whom he has two sons.

Club career

Leonardo began his career with the Brazilian club

in 1987; at just 17, he was given the opportunity to play with his hero Zico plus Leandro,

Bebeto José Roberto Gama de Oliveira (born 16 February 1964), known as Bebeto (), is a Brazilian former professional football player who played as a forward. He entered politics in the 2010 Brazilian General Elections and was elected to the Legi ...

and

Renato Gaúcho Renato Portaluppi (born 9 September 1962), known as Renato Gaúcho, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who is currently in charge of Grêmio. Formerly a right winger, Renato is known for his wins at the Intercontinen ...

, and to take part in winning his first Brazilian championship. In 1990, Leonardo signed with

, and in 1991, Leonardo,

Raí Raí Souza Vieira de Oliveira (born 15 May 1965), known as Raí (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent the better part of his 15-year career with São Paulo and Paris Saint-Germain, wi ...

, and other young talents were assembled as part of the so-called 'esquadrão tricolor' ("three-coloured squad") under the command of Brazilian legend

Telê Santana Telê Santana da Silva, also known as Telê Santana (July 26, 1931 – April 21, 2006) was a Brazilian football manager and former player (right winger). He was born in Itabirito, Minas Gerais. Telê was the manager responsible for putting tog ...

, giving Leonardo his second Brazilian championship. Later that year, he made the switch to European football, signing with the Spanish club

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. After two seasons with Valencia, he returned to Brazil for a brief stint with São Paulo in 1993, during which time the team won several titles, including the prestigious

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

and Intercontinental Cup. In 1994, after the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, Leonardo signed with the

of the newly formed Japanese

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

. Leonardo continued his success in Kashima, again playing with his idol and friend Zico. In 1996, he returned to Europe, this time signing with

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

club

(PSG), where he again proved to be successful, one of his goals helping them to oust

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

out of the semi-finals of the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

. At this point in his career, Leonardo had mostly stopped playing as a left-back and moved into the

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

, sometimes on the left flank, as a winger and sometimes in the centre, as an advanced

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...

, or as a supporting striker, due to his technical skills, vision and tactical intelligence. Already in Japan, this had resulted in some spectacular goals for Leonardo, a trend which continued in Europe. In the summer of 1997, he signed with

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

team

for €8.5 million from PSG. With Milan, he became a prominent part of a star-studded lineup on the left wing. He played four full seasons with the club, winning the

1998–99 Serie A The 1998–99 Serie A saw A.C. Milan, Milan win their 16th Scudetto, led by coach Alberto Zaccheroni. S.S. Lazio, Lazio finished second, losing the title on the last day. Inter Milan, Internazionale, with an often injured or rested Ronaldo (Brazil ...

title, in which he played a key role with his prolific performances, scoring 12 goals. In total, he scored 22 goals in 177 games for Milan, before returning to Brazil with São Paulo and

. He later returned to Milan and finished his career with the team in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, winning the

2002–03 Coppa Italia The 2002–03 Coppa Italia was the 56th edition of the tournament, which began on August 18, 2002 and ended on May 31, 2003. In the final, Milan beat Roma 6–3 on aggregate to win their 5th Coppa Italia and first since the 1976–77 edition. Gro ...

title.

International career

Leonardo was part of the Brazil under-20 team that placed third in the

1989 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Saudi Arabia between 16 February and 3 March 1989. The 1989 championship was the 7th contested. The tournament took place across four cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Ta'if. Qualification ...

. He made his full international debut for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 1990. He was selected as a

for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

, keeping the young

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his care ...

out of the team, much to the latter's chagrin. Leonardo played well in the first games but was then given a four-match suspension for elbowing the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

midfielder

Tab Ramos Tabaré "Tab" Ramos Ricciardi (born September 21, 1966) is an American former soccer player and current head coach of Hartford Athletic in the USL Championship. Over his thirteen-year professional career, Ramos played as a midfielder in Spain, ...

in the head, causing a skull fracture that hospitalized him for three and a half months. Leonardo's suspension prevented him from participating in the remainder of the competition. It was the second longest ban imposed in World Cup history, after

Mauro Tassotti Mauro Tassotti (; born in Rome, 19 January 1960) is an Italian manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a right-back. He currently serves as an assistant coach at Genoa. After making his Serie A debut with Lazio, he went on to ...

's eight-game suspension for breaking the nose of

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playing in several different positions, but usually played as ...

at the same tournament. In 1995, he took part in the

with Brazil, where the team reached the final. In 1997, Leonardo was given the

number 10 shirt Squad numbers are used in association football to identify and distinguish players that are on the field. Numbers very soon became a way to also indicate position, with starting players being assigned numbers 1–11, although in the modern ga ...

for the national team. He was an important member of the team that won the

, and also won the

later that year. Leonardo played all seven games in his second

, helping Brazil to a second-place finish. In the second opening round match against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, he netted one shot and began celebrating, but was later called off-side. He was last selected to play for Brazil in the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

qualifying campaign and ended his international career in 2002 with 60

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and 8 goals for Brazil.

Style of play

A versatile left-footed

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, Leonardo was capable of playing in several positions along the pitch; his favoured role was as a

in midfield, either as a

, or in a more central role, as an

or as a

supporting striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, due to his ability to create chances for teammates, although he was also capable of functioning as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, in a deep-lying playmaking role, as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, and was even deployed as

or wing-back throughout his career, in particular in his youth. An elegant and creative player, Leonardo was mainly regarded for his outstanding technical skills, as well as his vision, and tactical intelligence as a footballer, which made him an excellent

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

provider, although he was capable of scoring goals, as well as creating them, due to his accuracy from set-pieces and powerful striking ability from distance, and was known to be a specialist from dead ball situations. Despite his talent and reputation as one of the best Brazilian footballers of his generation, he was also often injury prone throughout his career.

Outside football

Since 2002, Leonardo has dedicated himself to social works with the ''Fundação Gol de Letra'', along with his friend, former player Raí. Leonardo worked for

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

in the United Kingdom during the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

as one of their ''

Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary L ...

'' analysts, alongside another former

winner,

Marcel Desailly Marcel Desailly (born Odenke Abbey; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional footballer, widely considered to be among the greatest centre-backs and defensive midfielders to ever play football. During a successful career at club level, l ...

. He appeared again as a ''Match of the Day'' analyst on 1 June 2007 alongside

Alan Hansen Alan David Hansen (born 13 June 1955) is a Scottish former footballer and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, for the successful Liverpool team of the late 1970s and 1980s, and for the Scotland ...

and

Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...

. This was the first

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

game at the new

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

finishing 1–1 with Brazil.

Coaching career

Leonardo In December 2007, Leonardo was interviewed for the vacant position of director of football at

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

AC Milan

In early 2008, Leonardo was appointed technical director of his former club AC Milan. Later that same year, he obtained Italian citizenship after 12 years in Italy as a resident. After

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

left Milan to become the manager of

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

at the end of May 2009, Leonardo was named head coach of Milan despite still lacking the required coaching badges (he was set to attend a UEFA A coaching course in June 2009). He was, however, exempted from requiring a

UEFA Pro license UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...

, which is mandatory for

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

managers, due to being a former World Cup winner as a player. Leonardo wasted no time in declaring that he wanted his team to play attractive attacking football, even invoking the name of his old mentor, Telê Santana. After a poor start of season, featuring a shock 0–4 loss to crosstown rivals

, that started speculation about his possible dismissal from the head coaching post at Milan, results started improving for the ''rossoneri'' under Leonardo, also thanks to the application of a 4–2–1–3 tactic (nicknamed also "4–2–fantasy" by Milan vice-president

Adriano Galliani Adriano Galliani (born 30 July 1944) is an Italian entrepreneur and football executive who is the CEO of club Monza. He is known for being former vice-chairman and CEO of AC Milan from 1986 to 2017, a period in the club's history known as t ...

). This tactic, quite unusual in Italian football and greatly focusing on creative players such as

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...

and

Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is regarded by many to be one of the best midfielders of his generation. Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UEF ...

, led Milan to improved results at both Serie A and

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

level, including a remarkable 3–2 win at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...

against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

and a 3–0 away win to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

which enabled Leonardo's side to finish in second place at the half-way point of the season, six points shy of leaders Inter with a game in hand. However, the path to the

Champions League final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...

was halted prematurely as Milan were eliminated in the first knockout round by

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in a 2–7 aggregate loss (2–3, 0–4). In the final weeks of the season, it was speculated that Leonardo could leave Milan at the end of the season. In April 2010, Leonardo confirmed divergences with club owner and

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

, defining their relationship as "difficult". It was confirmed that Leonardo would leave Milan by mutual agreement after their season ending game against Juventus. Leonardo waved an emotional goodbye to a packed

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

, as he managed his side's last game with a 3–0 win against Juventus.

Inter Milan

On 24 December 2010, after days of speculation, it was confirmed Leonardo would take over as head coach of fresh

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

champions Inter Milan, replacing

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under-1 ...

in a somewhat controversial move, due to the Brazilian's long career with rivals Milan as both player and manager; he agreed an 18-month contract due to expire on 30 June 2012. Leonardo started extremely well, collecting 30 points from 12 games with an average of 2.5 points per game, better than his predecessors Benítez and

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...

. On 6 March 2011, Leonardo set a new Italian Serie A record by collecting 33 points in 13 games; the previous record was 32 points in 13 games, achieved by

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...

in 2004–05. On 15 March 2011, Leonardo led Inter to a memorable 3–2 Champions League away victory over

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

at the

Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterior ...

in the round of 16 after losing the first leg at home. On 2 April 2011, Internazionale lost 3–0 against their fierce rivals Milan, and when Inter, two weeks later, lost 2–0 against relegation battlers

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, the club's title ambitions had effectively ended. On 6 April, Inter lost 5–2 to

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. On 29 May 2011, Inter defeated

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

3–1 to give Leonardo his first and only trophy as a manager of Inter, the

. He resigned on 18 June.

Executive career

Paris Saint-Germain

In June 2011, speculation arose about the future of Leonardo at Inter Milan after some media cited about talks between him and the new Qatari owners of Paris Saint-Germain, where Leonardo already spent one season as a player in the 1996–97 season. Following that, Inter Milan president

Massimo Moratti Massimo Moratti (born 16 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire petroleum businessman, the former owner of Inter Milan and chairman of the Saras Group, founded in 1962 by his father, industrialist Angelo Moratti. The main production site of the Sara ...

began searching a replacement for Leonardo, then hiring former

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

boss

Gian Piero Gasperini Gian Piero Gasperini (born 26 January 1958) is an Italian football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of Italian side Atalanta. Playing career Gasperini entered the Juventus youth system at the age of 9; during his stay ...

as new head coach and releasing Leonardo from his contract thereafter. In July 2011, Leonardo was then introduced as new

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

of PSG, being responsible for the club's major transfer market decisions. His first signings included several high-profile players from Serie A, such as

Jérémy Ménez Jérémy Ménez (born 7 May 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie B club Reggina. Ménez has been described as an ambipedal, technically skilled, pacy playmaker. Ménez began his career spending t ...

Mohamed Sissoko Mohamed Lamine Sissoko (born 22 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in France, he could have elected to play for France internationally, but chose instead to play for the national side of ...

Salvatore Sirigu Salvatore Sirigu (, ; born 12 January 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Fiorentina and the Italy national team. Sirigu began his career with Venezia, and then Palermo. In 2011, he moved to Paris Sa ...

Javier Pastore Javier Matías Pastore (; born 20 June 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Qatar SC. Pastore began his club career with Talleres and then Huracán in his native Argentina before moving to Se ...

and

Thiago Motta Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of club Bologna. A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at Barcelona, where he was injury-prone. He played two and ...

, and was the mastermind behind the appointment of his friend Carlo Ancelotti as head coach of PSG. In May 2013, Leonardo was banned for nine months, after he was accused of pushing a referee at the end of a game against

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

in which

Thiago Silva Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea and captains the Brazil national team. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, he is known f ...

was sent off. The ban was extended to 13 months in July 2013. On 10 July, he tendered his resignation as sporting director and left the French champions at the end of August. His ban was overturned in June 2014 by the Paris Administrative Tribunal, at which point he announced that he would sue the

French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF; french: Fédération Française de Football) is the governing body of football in France. It also includes the overseas departments ( Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion), the over ...

for "professional" and "moral" damages.

AC Milan

In July 2018, following a change of ownership at Milan and the removal of

Marco Fassone Marco Fassone (born August 17, 1964 in Pinerolo) is an Italian business executive and sports manager, former managing director of AC Milan. He assumed this role after Li Yonghong’s Luxembourg-based holding company, Rossoneri Sport Investment, ...

and Massimiliano Mirabelli from their respective roles as managing director and director of football, the club's new owners

Elliott Management Corporation Elliott Investment Management is an American investment management firm. It is also one of the largest activist funds in the world. It is the management affiliate of American hedge funds Elliott Associates L.P. and Elliott International Limit ...

announced the appointment of Leonardo as their new sporting director. In his capacity, he also serves as director of football and supervised the captures of

Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...

and

Mattia Caldara Mattia Caldara (; born 5 May 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Spezia, on loan from AC Milan. He has represented the Italy national team. Club career Atalanta 2013–14 season Born in Bergamo, ...

from Juventus as his first two signings. In December 2018, he obtained his sporting director diploma through the Coverciano Technical Centre.

Return to Paris Saint-Germain

On 1 July 2019, it was announced that Leonardo would be the new sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain following his departure from Milan on mutual consent. In the 2019–20 season, Leonardo made several signings for PSG, including

Abdou Diallo Abdou-Lakhad Diallo (born 4 May 1996), known as Abdou Diallo, is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. Born in France, he plays for the Senegal nation ...

Ander Herrera Ander Herrera Agüera (; born 14 August 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He began his career at Real Zaragoza, before moving ...

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Mauro Icardi Mauro Emanuel Icardi Rivero (; born 19 February 1993) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray S.K. (football), Galatasaray, on loan fro ...

Pablo Sarabia Pablo Sarabia García (; born 11 May 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Spain national team. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a right winger. After pl ...

, and

Keylor Navas Keilor Antonio Navas Gamboa (born 15 December 1986), known as Keylor Navas, is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Costa Rica national team. He was named CONCACAF Men's G ...

. The club went on to complete a

domestic treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...

and finish runner-up in the

, a first final for Paris. In May 2022, Leonardo was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain. Despite his successful attempts at convincing

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Sain ...

to stay in Paris, Leonardo is generally viewed by observers as having had a net negative impact on PSG's development during his second spell as sporting director.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Flamengo *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

São Paulo * Intercontinental Cup:

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Supercopa Sudamericana The Supercopa Libertadores (English: ''Libertadores Supercup''), also known as the Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually between 1988 and 1997 by t ...

Kashima Antlers *

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

AC Milan *

: 1998–99 *

: 2002–03 Brazil *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

Individual * Bola de Prata: 1991 * A.C. Milan Hall of Fame * Golden Foot Award Legends: 2018

Manager

Inter Milan *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardo Araujo 1969 births Living people Brazilian footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players CR Flamengo footballers São Paulo FC players Expatriate footballers in Japan J1 League players Kashima Antlers players La Liga players Valencia CF players Expatriate footballers in Spain Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players Ligue 1 players Expatriate footballers in France A.C. Milan players Serie A players Expatriate footballers in Italy 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1995 Copa América players 1997 Copa América players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Copa América-winning players Brazil international footballers Brazil under-20 international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers A.C. Milan managers Inter Milan managers Serie A managers Antalyaspor managers Expatriate football managers in Italy Expatriate football managers in Turkey Brazilian football managers Brazilian expatriate football managers Association football midfielders Paris Saint-Germain F.C. non-playing staff Sportspeople from Niterói