Sporting academy star reveals chats with Rui Costa: Benfica said that… | OneFootball

Rafael Leão - who 'complicated' life for the reds - revealed why he didn't stay at Benfica when he was younger. On the ‘SayLessGlobal’ podcast, the star from Sporting's academy, who is now a player for Milan, stated that recently, Rui Costa jokingly apologized to his father for what happened at that time.

"Benfica wanted me to sign, but at that time, we didn't have a car. We had no way to get to training. Benfica said there was no problem, they had a VAN to take me to training. They could take me from school to training," began Rafael Leão, Portuguese international.

"I waited for the VAN, but it never came. I started to cry. I didn't do a single training session. So we decided to sign for Sporting. A few months ago, my father told me that he met with Rui Costa, who is now the President of Benfica, and jokingly apologized to him," added the star from Sporting's academy.

This is not the first time Rafael Leão has spoken about Benfica. As he revealed on this podcast, the vast majority of his family are fans of the Club da Luz and some say that the Portuguese international is too, despite having done all his training at the eternal rival of the eagles, Sporting.

In 2024/25, wearing the Milan shirt, Rafael Leão - valued at 70 million euros - played 50 matches: 34 in the National Championship, 10 in the Champions League, five in the Italian Cup and one in the Super Cup. In the 3,500 minutes he was an option, the forward scored 12 goals and made 11 assists.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.