Rafael Alexandre de Conceicao Leao was born on June 10th, 1999, in Almada, Portugal. There, in a poor neighbourhood across the river from Lisbon, he ate, drank and slept football, encouraged the whole time by his parents who believed he was capable of great things.
After all, his name when translated from Portuguese means ‘Lionheart’.
Aged nine, he joined Sporting CP’s youth academy, turning down Benfica because it was too far to travel each day, and it wasn’t long before he was widely regarded as one of the nation's brightest prospects. By all accounts, he was destined for the top.
| Per year | €9,053,000 | £7,643,782 |
| Per month | €754,416 | £636,981 |
| Per week | €174,096 | £146,995 |
| Per day | €24,802 | £20,941 |
| Per hour | €1,033 | £872 |
| Per minute | €17 | £14 |
He first began to realise these high expectations on the international stage.
In 2016, the tricky winger – then deployed as a striker – represented Portugal at the U17 Euros, helping the Selecao win the tournament, and he nearly repeated the feat 12 months later at the U19 Euros, reaching the final.
By then, Leao was on the cusp of breaking into the Sporting first team, his debut arriving the following February.
It seemed for all the world like the teenager’s future was written in the stars, taking a path undertaken by so many before him. Leao would prove himself a star in the Primeira Liga, stay at Sporting for a couple of seasons, then be moved on for a large fee.
Only then, with just three league games under his belt at his boyhood club, an incident occurred (we'll get onto that), one that altered his career path dramatically.
It also cost the youngster to the tune of €16m.
How Much Is Rafael Leao Worth?
After losing an appeal at the start of 2022 it is not known whether Leao will now pay the astronomical sum or proceed with his final option of taking his case to the supreme court.
What can be stated for sure is that the figures laid out here may be very different in the not-too-distant future.
Team Specials - Portugal to score in both halves in each of their 3 group games
On joining Milan in the summer of 2019, the attacking talent was on £33,000 a week. But after enjoying enormous success at the San Siro, inspiring the Rossoneri to a league title in 2022 and establishing himself as one of the leading lights of Serie A, that has subsequently shot up to £147,000 a week. That’s north of £7.5m per year before bonuses.
Add in a boot deal with Adidas and royalties from an autobiography, and the 24-year-old’s current net worth is estimated at £8.5m.
The Incident
Leao’s debut season as a professional footballer did not end well for Sporting, the club missing out on a Champions League spot on the final day by unexpectedly losing to Maritimo. You would have got long betting odds on that happening.
The players trudged off the pitch to a chorus of wild boos.
Yet it all got considerably worse a matter of days later when they returned to their dressing room after training. They were preparing for a Taca de Portugal final that weekend.
A group of 50 thugs, all masked and carrying sticks and belts, descended on the locker room, indiscriminately attacking the players and coaching staff.
“They came in very aggressively. They came with everything,” goalkeeper Rui Patricio later stated in the subsequent court case.
For his part, the Portuguese international attempted to assist midfielder William Carvalho who was being assaulted by ‘three or four’ of the assailants. He was threatened with a broken jaw for his trouble.
By the end of this shocking event several players and assistant coaches were injured, including forward Das Bost who required stitches for a head wound.
Sickened by what had occurred, a number of players immediately vowed to leave Sporting by terminating their contracts and citing just cause. Among them was Bruno Fernandes, now at Manchester United, and the up-and-coming Rafael Leao.
In Leao’s instance, the club reluctantly ceded to his demand, or more accurately they were at a loss to stop him. The youngster duly joined French side Lille as a free agent.
The problems really started though when Leao proved to be an instant success in Ligue 1, prompting AC Milan to swoop with a €35m fee.
Sporting believed they were entitled to compensation for missing out on the windfall. Indeed they filed a claim with FIFA for damages amounting to €45m.
This was quickly dismissed. However, in a separate but related case, Portugal’s Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered the player to pay €16.5m to his former club for terminating his own contract.
Milan and Selecao
The flying winger needed little time to adapt to Italian football, becoming the second youngest foreign player to reach ten goals for Milan.
Just six months in he made headlines across the continent by scoring after just 6.2 seconds against Sassuolo. It remains the fastest goal ever scored in Europe’s big five leagues.
In his third campaign on the peninsula his 21 goal involvements contributed significantly to Milan’s Scudetto success, a figure he surpassed one year later with 15 goals and ten assists.
By this time, Leao was firmly embedded in Portugal’s first team, starring alongside Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes at the 2022 World Cup and playing a big role in the Selecao romping through their Euro qualifying campaign unbeaten.
A potentially career-defining summer awaits in Germany.
Lofty Comparisons
Since breaking onto the scene, Leao has been compared to a plethora of all-time greats.
A former coach at youth level once insisted he was the superior of Cristiano Ronaldo and, due to his direct dribbling style and ability to alter the live betting markets with a moment of individual magic, he’s been likened to the other Ronaldo too.
Possessing similar attributes to Kylian Mbappe has inevitably led to articles comparing the two while Milan’s ex-coach Stefano Pioli regularly brought up Thierry Henry when his brilliant winger was discussed.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
