Sporting claimed they were due

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With Portugal 2-1 up and Ghana pushing forward in search of the equaliser, the 23-year-old popped up on the left wing to slot home a Bruno Fernandes pass in the 80th minute — neatly struck between defenders into the far corner with his right foot after he had opened up his body.


Yet as the cameo against Ghana marked only his 12th senior cap for Portugal, as well as his first goal for his country, Leao’s growing reputation has largely been built at club level. Always regarded as an extraordinary talent, he was considered one of the top prospects in the youth ranks at Sporting CP, which is some acclaim for such a prestigious academy system that has produced the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma.

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However, after scoring two goals in five games for the senior buy phone number list side, Leao was one of a number of players attacked by supporters at Sporting’s training ground. As a result, he joined many of his teammates by terminating his contract in the summer of 2018 and the forward signed for Lille on free transfer. his €45m release clause and took the player and the French club to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where they were eventually awarded €16.5m, but an appeal is ongoing.

Tor-Kristian Karlsen is a Norwegian football scout and executive and is the former chief executive and sporting director at AS Monaco. He will write regularly for ESPN on the business of soccer and the process of scouting.

Leao then joined AC Milan in 2019 for €35m and it was under coach Stefano Pioli’s guidance that he added the tactical discipline, maturity and overall consistency to make the step up from an occasional impact player to a full-fledged Serie A star.