Rafael Alexandre da Conceição Leão (; born 10 June 1999) is a Portuguese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Serie A club

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

and the Portugal national team. He is known for his dribbling and speed. Graduating from

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

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 Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...

fans within the club's facilities. Shortly after, he joined for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

on a free transfer. AC Milan signed him in 2019 for a reported fee of €35 million. He won the

2021–22 Serie A The 2021–22 Serie A (known as the Serie A Telecom Italia, TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 120th season of top-tier Italian association football, football, the 90th in a round-robin tournament, and the 12th since its organization under an ...

, was voted the 2021–22 Serie A Most Valuable Player, and won the

2024–25 Supercoppa Italiana The 2024–25 Supercoppa Italiana (branded as the EA SPORTS FC Supercup for sponsorship reasons) was the 37th edition of the Supercoppa Italiana. 2023–24 Serie A runners-up AC Milan defeated 2023–24 Serie A winners Inter Milan 3–2 in the 2 ...

. 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 The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

and

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

. He won the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Early life

Leão was born on in

Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population of the municipality in 20 ...

, Portugal, a city located in the

Lisbon Metropolitan Area The Lisbon Metropolitan Area (; abbreviated as AML) is a metropolitan areas in Portugal, metropolitan area in Portugal centered on Lisbon, the capital and largest city of the country. The metropolitan area, covering 17 List of cities in Portuga ...

. The son of an

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

n 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 The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

" in the

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom� ...

Club career

Sporting CP

Leão joined

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

'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 The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

with the first team on 11 February 2018, replacing

Bryan Ruiz Bryan Jafet Ruiz González (; born 18 August 1985) is a Costa Rican former professional Association football, footballer. A left-footed Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder, he also played as a Forward (association football)#S ...

for the last 21 minutes of the 2–0 home win over Feirense. On 2 March, having taken the place of injured

Seydou Doumbia Seydou Doumbia (; born 31 December 1987) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a forward. After beginning his career in the Ivory Coast and Japan, he arrived in Europe in 2008 to play for Swiss club Young Boys, where he wa ...

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 Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

– 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 Alcochete () is a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,569, in an area of 128.36 km². The municipality is composed of three parishes and is located in Setúbal District. Alcochete is known for its bullfighting tradition ...

Lille

On 8 August 2018, Leão joined French club

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 The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

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 The (, ''Professional Football League''), commonly known as the LFP, is a French governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France and Monaco. It was founded in 1944 and serves under the authority of the French Footba ...

(LFP), due to sanctions imposed by the

Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion Direction may refer to: *Body relative direction, for instance left, right, forward, backwards, up, and down ** Anatomical terms of location for those used in anatomy ** List of ship directions *Cardinal direction *Bearing (navigation) Mathemat ...

(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. Leão made his competitive debut on 30 September 2018, replacing Loïc Rémy in the 78th minute, in a 3–0 home win over

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. He scored his first

goal in only his second appearance, playing 67 minutes and helping the hosts defeat

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

in a 1–0 victory. On 1 February 2019, he scored his sixth goal of the season and made an assist to

Nicolas Pépé Nicolas Pépé (born 29 May 1995) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), right winger or forward (association football), forward for La Liga club Villarreal CF, Villarreal. Born in France ...

, his first for the club, in a 4–0 home win over

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionChristophe Galtier, and shared teams with compatriots

José Fonte José Miguel da Rocha Fonte (born 22 December 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Primeira Liga club Casa Pia. He started his professional career with Sporting CP B, moving to England with ...

, Rui Fonte, Edgar Ié and Xeka, as they finished as runners-up in a brilliant

2018–19 Ligue 1 The 2018–19 Ligue 1 season, also known as Ligue 1 Conforama for sponsorship reasons, was the 81st season since its establishment. The season began on 10 August 2018 and concluded on 24 May 2019. Paris Saint-Germain were the defending champions. ...

season.

AC Milan

2019–21: Adaptation to Italy

On 1 August 2019, Leão signed a five-year contract at

for a fee of €35 million plus a 20% sell-on clause. He made his

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

debut on 25 August, replacing Samu Castillejo in 75th-minute in a 1–0 away defeat to

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

. Leão scored his first goal of the club, as a late consolation in a 1–3 home loss to

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

on 29 September. On 19 March 2020, the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

(CAS) condemned Leão to pay €16.5 million to Sporting CP for his unilateral breach of contract. On 7 July, Leão scored a goal against league-leaders

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, 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. At the beginning of the following season, on 4 October, Leão scored a brace in a 3–0 home victory at

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

against

Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguri ...

. On 29 October, he scored his first goal in European competitions, in a 3–0 home group stage victory in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

against

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

. He scored the fastest goal in the history of Serie A and in Europe's top-five leagues, after six seconds on 20 December at

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

; the match ended 2–1 for his team. 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, after

Alexandre Pato Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (; born 2 September 1989), commonly known as Alexandre Pato () or just Pato, is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Pato began ...

(19 years and 19 days).

2021–22: Breakthrough and Serie A champion

At the start of the 2021–22 season, on 29 August, Leão scored the first goal from a shot outside the box, in a 4–1 home victory against

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

. On 15 September, on in his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut, he provided an assist for Ante Rebić in a 3–2 away defeat to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

; and on 28 September, he scored his first goal in the competition in a 2–1 home loss against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

. On 9 February 2022, Leão opened the score sheet against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

and assisted the second goal, being directly involved in 14 goals in the season, surpassing his record during his career in Europe's the top 5 leagues. 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. 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, after

Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...

. 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. Seven days later, Leão's two assists to Sandro Tonali helped his team come from behind to defeat

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

3–1 away from home, allowing his side to overtake

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, ...

at the top of the Serie A table. On 22 May, he provided a hat-trick of assists for the first time in his career as Milan beat

3–0 away from home to win their first Serie A title in eleven years. At the end of the season, Leão was awarded the Serie A MVP award for the 2021–22 season, finishing the campaign with 11 goals and 10 assists. Leão also established himself as one of the best dribblers (186) in Serie A and the 3rd best among European players after

Vinícius Júnior Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (; born 12 July 2000), commonly known as Vinícius Júnior or Vini Jr., is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for La Liga ...

(210) and Allan Saint-Maximin (205).

2022–23: Champions League semi-finals and contract extension

Leão started the 2022–23 season by scoring and providing an assist in a 2–0 home win against

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

on 27 August. On 3 September, on his 100th appearance in Serie A, he scored a brace and provided an assist to

Olivier Giroud Olivier Jonathan Giroud (; born 30 September 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Giroud began his senior club career ...

in a 3–2 win against crosstown rivals Inter in the ''

Derby della Madonnina The Derby della Madonnina (; named after the ''Madonnina'' statue on top of the Milan Cathedral), also known as the Derby di Milano (), is a derby football match between the two prominent Milanese clubs, Inter Milan and AC Milan. In the past, ...

''; his second goal won him the Serie A Goal of the Month award for September. On 10 September, Leão was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for the first time in his club career, after being booked twice, for violent conduct (kicking the head of Alex Ferrari, while attempting to perform an acrobatic

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...

) early in the second half of Milan's 2–1 win over Sampdoria. During this time, in October, Leão was one of the 30 candidates who was nominated for the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

, being placed 14th place in the voting polls, the highest Portuguese player ranked in the voting list. Later that month, Leão was named Serie A Player of the Month. On 2 April 2023, Leão scored a brace in a 4–0 away win over league leaders

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

, to be the latter's biggest defeat since losing 5–1 to

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

in the 2007–08 season. On 18 April, he provided an assist to Olivier Giroud following a solo run, to be later named player of the match, in a 1–1 away draw against the same opponent in the

2022–23 UEFA Champions League The 2022–23 UEFA Champions League was the 68th season of Europe's premier club Association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 31st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions ...

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. 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. Two days before the 2022–23 season final round, Leão extended his contract with AC Milan until 2028. 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 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

and a €175 million

release clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

that can be activated only during the summer transfer windows. Previous Leão's club Lille also kept a sell-on clause and an interest throughout a future transfer deal. 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.

2023–24: Inheritance of number 10 shirt and Serie A top assist provider

Prior to the 2023–24 season, Leão was given the squad number 10 following the departure of

Brahim Díaz Brahim Abdelkader Díaz (; born 3 August 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Real Madrid. Born in Spain, he plays for the Morocco national team. Early life Brahim was born in Spa ...

, who returned from his loan spell from

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, the club's previous number 10. The shirt had also previously been worn in the Serie A by former Milan players, most notably

Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch former professional Association football, football manager and player. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He is currently working primarily remotely as ...

Gianni Rivera Giovanni "Gianni" Rivera (; born 18 August 1943) is an Italian politician and former association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Dubbed Italy's "Golden Boy" by the media, he played the majority of his club career wi ...

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pr ...

Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...

, and

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a former Dutch Association football, footballer and subsequent manager. Regarded among the greatest footballers of all time, he was also noted for his Utility player#Association football, abili ...

. Leão scored his first goal of the new season on 1 September, netting an acrobatic

in a 2–1 home league win over

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. On 23 September, he captained Milan for the first time in a home win over

, scoring the first goal of a 1–0 win. Over the following months, Leão was criticized for his performances, most notably in Milan's Champions League group stage match against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, 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 over

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

on matchday four of the group stage of the Champions League on 9 November, which later helped them qualify to the Europa 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. In the Europa League, Leão helped his team reach the quarter finals of the competition, scoring two goals in the knockout round play-offs against

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

in a 5–3 aggregate win. In the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

, he scored one goal and provided two assists in a 7–3 aggregate win over Slavia Praga, helping Milan reach the quarter finals of the competition. On 30 March, Leão made his 200th appearance for the club, scoring and assisting in a 2–1 away win over Fiorentina. On 5 May, Leão was whistled by sections of the Milan fans upon being substituted against

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, 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 over

to become the second fastest player to reach 50 goals and 50 assists for the club after

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime at A.C. Milan, AC Mil ...

. Leão created the most big chances (18) in the

2023–24 Serie A The 2023–24 Serie A (known as the Serie A Gruppo TIM, TIM and Serie A Made in Italy for sponsorship reasons domestically and abroad, respectively) was the 122nd season of top-tier Italian association football, football, the 92nd in a ro ...

and finished the season as Serie A's top assist provider, alongside

Paulo Dybala Paulo Exequiel Dybala (born 15 November 1993) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder or Forward (association football), winger for club AS Roma, Roma and the Ar ...

with 9 assists and scored 9 goals, being named in the Serie A Team of the Season.

2024–25: Supercoppa Italiana

Starting the new season, Leão began a rift with new manager

Paulo Fonseca Paulo Alexandre Rodrigues Fonseca (born 5 March 1973) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who played as a central defender. He is currently manager of Ligue 1 club ...

, 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 like Noah Okafor, who were perceived to offer more balance to the team's structure. The turning point in the relationship between Leão and Fonseca was during Milan's Champions League league phase match against

on 5 November, where he assisted the third goal in a 3–1 win at the Santiago Bernabéu. Four days later, he scored twice in a 3–3 draw against

, netting his 50th Serie A goal in the process, with his last brace for the club being in June 2023. On 13 November, while he was away on international duty for Portugal, he confirmed he and Fonseca had settled their issues. On 6 January 2025 Leão won the 2024 Supercoppa Italiana against rivals Inter Milan, under the new coach, Sergio Conceição (who replaced

). 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.

International career

Youth career

With the Portugal under-17s, Leão participated in the

2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 15th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship (34th edition if the Under-16 era is included), the annual European international youth football championship contested by the men's under- ...

. In this competition, he played five out of six matches, not playing against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the semifinals. In the finals against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Leão replaced Domingos 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. With the under-19s, Leão participated in the

2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-19 Euro 2017) was the 16th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (66th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual international youth footba ...

, helping finishing as runner-up, after losing in the final to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. At the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

in Poland he played all three games and scored the only goal in a 1–1 draw against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, though his side did not advance from the group. On 10 November 2017, aged only 18, Leão won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for the Portugal under-21 side, playing 31 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

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 Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

for the 2021 European Championship qualification campaign. In March 2021, Leão took part in the

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2021) was the 23rd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (26th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth Association ...

, helping Portugal finish as runners-up, after losing in the final 1–0 to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Senior career

On 5 October 2021, Leão was called up to the senior team for the first time, as a replacement for the injured Rafa Silva. Four days later, he made his international debut, replacing

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

and providing the assist for André Silva's goal in a 3–0 friendly defeat of

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. In October 2022, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

in Qatar, being included in the final 26-man squad for the tournament. On 25 November, Leão scored his first international goal, closing Portugal's 3–2 group stage win against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. Leão followed with a second World Cup goal on 6 December when he sealed of Portugal's 6–1 thrashing of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in the

. Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 1–0 to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. On 21 May 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for the

. He started against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, before missing the final group stage match

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, due to accumulation of yellow cards, for simulation in both matches. He made a further two appearances against

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

(3–0 victory in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

) and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the knockout stage (5–3 loss in another shootout). In May 2025, Leão was selected for Portugal’s

2025 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, 2024–25 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the fourth season of the international Association football, football competition involving the men ...

. He and his team would go on to win the tournament 5–3 in a penalty shootout over rivals

Player profile

Style of play

Leão is regarded as a skillful and technical player, capable of playing on either flank, due to his versatility. Standing tall, Leão is a tall and lean player who has a burst and speed to match, making him a dynamic forward. Having developed as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

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. 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. He is also capable of creating chances and providing assists for teammates from the left due to his vision. Inside the

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. If any part of the ball is ove ...

, he uses dribbles and movement to get into good positions. Leão has also been played as a striker because of his composure and eye for goal. Rafael Leao scoring

During his managerial spell at Milan,

Stefano Pioli Stefano Pioli (born 20 October 1965) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is currently manager of Serie A club ACF Fiorentina. Pioli has managed several clubs in Serie A, including Bologna, Lazio, Int ...

deployed Leão as a

supporting striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

or a winger on either side of the pitch, rather than an out-and-out striker. 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. Club teammate Fikayo Tomori describe him as "fast, he's strong, he can dribble, he can head the ball, he's tall. He's got everything".

Reception

Leão drew comparisons to French player

Kylian Mbappé Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and Captain (association football), captains ...

, being called the "Portuguese Mbappe". Tiago Fernandes, who worked with him at the Sporting youth academy, told French newspaper ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

'' that in his opinion the player was better than

at the same stage. Jesus, who later coached him in the first team, said that he reminded him of former club striker

Rui Jordão Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão (; 9 August 1952 – 18 October 2019) was a Portuguese footballer. His professional career was spent mostly with two of the biggest clubs in the country, Benfica and Sporting CP. One of the most prolific strikers ...

. Stefano Pioli and Italian manager

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL, AS Roma, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus FC, Juventus. H ...

compared him to former

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

striker

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

teammate Bruno Fernandes, stated Leão reminds him of Brazilian footballer Ronaldo "with his speed, technique and explosiveness in decisive moments, being qualities that have emerged every game to drag Milan towards great results.” 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 coach

Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach, best known for having twice managed AC Milan. Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and his Milan side (1987–1991) is widely regarded ...

, while acknowledging the player's individual talent, called Leão a liability to the AC Milan team as a collective.

Personal life

Leão is also a

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and releases his music under the name WAY 45. In addition to his native Portuguese, Leão is fluent in English and Italian as well as French following his stint at

. In 2024, Leão wrote an autobiography, edited by nss sport and published by Piemme, titled ''Smile''.

Career statistics

Club

International

''Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Leão goal.''

Honours

Sporting CP *

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

: 2017–18 AC Milan *

: 2021–22 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

: 2024–25 *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

runner-up: 2024–25 Portugal U17 *

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-17, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain national under-17 football team, ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Portugal U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

runner-up:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Portugal U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

runner-up:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Portugal *

: 2024–25 Individual *

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

: 2021–22 * Serie A Player of the Month: October 2022, April 2023, September 2023 * Serie A Goal of the Month: September 2022 *

Serie A Team of the Year The AIC Serie A Team of the Year (in Italian: ''Squadra dell’anno AIC'') is an annual award given to a set of eleven footballers in the top tier of Football in Italy, Italian football, the Serie A, who are considered to have performed the best d ...

: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 *

Serie A Footballer of the Year The AIC Serie A Footballer of the Year () is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the Association football, footballer who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A seas ...

*Serie A Top Assist provider: 2023–24 Records * Fastest goal ever scored in the Italian

: 6.2 seconds after the start of

–

, in the 2020–21 season.

References

External links

Profile
at the AC Milan website * * *
Portuguese League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leao, Rafael 1999 births Living people Footballers from Almada Portuguese sportspeople of Angolan descent Portuguese people of São Tomé and Príncipe descent Black Portuguese sportspeople Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Sporting CP B players Sporting CP footballers Ligue 1 players Lille OSC players Serie A players AC Milan players 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players UEFA Nations League–winning players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Portuguese male rappers Portuguese hip-hop musicians 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen