Rafael Leão to Benfica? Ex-Sporting player: I was left waiting | OneFootball

Rafael Leão - who even complicated Benfica’s life not long ago - confirmed that, when he was younger, he signed a contract with Benfica, before heading to Sporting. Appearing on SayLessGlobal, a well-known podcast, the Portuguese international also revealed a conversation with Rui Costa.

“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 it wasn’t a problem, they had a VAN to take me to training. ‘We can take him from school to training,’” Rafael Leão, the Portuguese international, began by saying.

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

This isn’t the first time Rafael Leão has spoken about Benfica. As he revealed on this podcast, the vast majority of his family supports the Club of Luz, and some say that the Portuguese international does too, even though he did all his training at Benfica’s eternal rival, 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 available, the forward scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists.

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