News about Rafael Leao

Shortly after Kylian Mbappe had departed the scene to join Real Madrid earlier this summer, Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique was asked to assess the strength of those who remained under his command in the French capital. With a squad that would be the envy of managers across Europe, Enrique wasn't short of top talents to discuss. But one name immediately sprung to mind. Vitinha. A little twinkle-toed magician in central midfield whom Enrique declared had been PSG's best player last season, even with Mbappe in the team.

He reached the landmark with a typical Ronaldo goal, the icon lurking in at the back post to tap home a smart cross from the left from team-mate Rafael Leao. The 39-year-old has recently spoken on how he refused to retire from international football on the back of Euro 2024, and is now seems set to lead his side into another major tournament in two years' time. How many goals he will end up on is anyone's guess. Still playing regularly for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, he could be targeting 1000.

Fans have hailed Cristiano Ronaldo on social media after he scored the 900th goal of his career in Portugal's 2-1 win over Croatia.   What seemed like a typical Ronaldo goal, the icon lurking in at the back post to tap home a smart cross from the left, turned out to be a momentous moment, with the 39-year-old passing the incredible landmark while wearing his national shirt. Rafael Leao dropped deep on the left-hand side to collect the ball as the former Real Madrid man waited in the box, along with Bruno Fernandes.

Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first player in football history to score 900 goals after his cool finish put Portugal 2-0 up against Croatia. What seemed like a typical Ronaldo goal, the icon lurking in at the back post to tap home a smart cross from the left, turned out to be a momentous moment, with the 39-year-old passing the incredible landmark while wearing his national shirt. Rafael Leao dropped deep on the left-hand side to collect the ball as the former Real Madrid man waited in the box, along with Bruno Fernandes . The AC Milan star then produced a pinpoint delivery which was just begging to be prodded home - and 'CR7' obliged, wheeling off in celebration presumably aware of what he had just achieved.

Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing AC Milan winger Rafael Leao following the difficulties in Nico Williams' deal. The Catalans have been seeking for an alternative over the past few weeks after the Spain and Athletic Bilbao star made it clear that he would stay at his current club for another year. The Euro 2024 winner had his doubts about Barcelona's financial situation throughout the entire summer transfer window, although President Joan Laporta assured fans that they could afford such a deal back in July.

MATT BARLOW IN HAMBURG: France arrived in Germany as favourites for the trophy but have struggled to find fluency, been devoid of the usual flair and short of goals. Their first three in the competition came from two own goals and a penalty by Mbappe against Poland. Deschamps made a couple of changes in search of the spark, with Eduardo Camavinga into midfield for Adrien Rabiot who was suspended, and Randal Kolo Mauni up front instead of Marcus Thuram. Mbappe, still wearing the mask he doesn't like to protect his broken nose, led early attacking flurries but the contest opened cagily. Portugal settled into a controlled spell of possession, moving the ball freely and Rafael Leao's strength and speed got the better of Jules Kounde without creating a clear chance.

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo rolled back the years after easing past a defender with his iconic step overs.  The 39-year-old first made a name for himself by producing silky skills but has unsurprisingly slowed down in recent years.  However, he was back at it once again against Turkey as he dropped defender Abduelkerim Bardakci to the ground with step overs before delivering a cross to Rafael Leao. 

Diogo Jota appeared to score during Portugal's dramatic 2-1 victory against Czechia on Tuesday night but after tapping the ball into the back of the net, he was seen rowing with Jindrich Stanek. After a quiet first half, Lukas Provod broke the deadlock for Czechia in the 62nd minute, but Roberto Martinez's side were given a lifeline after Robin Hranac's own goal saw them pull level at 1-1. Jota, 27, who came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute for Rafael Leao, had looked like he'd scored the winner for the 2016 European Champions. 

Many fans believe that Portugal can win Euro 2024 after a graphic of their incredible squad depth went viral. Portugal won their first ever European Championship in 2016 and are now looking to secure glory again eight years later. With a mixture of experienced players and talented youngsters at their disposal, Portugal could make a major impact at this summer's tournament in Germany.

The Serie A season has nearly reached its conclusion with just three rounds of fixtures left and things are heating up in the race for the Champions League places. Meanwhile, AC Milan look set for a managerial change in the summer after a disappointing season under Stefano Pioli, while Juventus players wait to find out if they will be coached by Massimiliano Allegri next season. Mail Sport's Italian football expert Alvise Cagnazzo rounds up 10 things we learnt from the latest round of Serie A games.

West Ham United are targeting Corinthians teenager Wesley as part of the club's move in a different direction this summer. Mail Sport understands the Hammers watched the opening game of the Brazilian Serie A season last month to make checks on the 19-year-old. Wesley, who can operate off either wing or in behind a striker, is valued at around £21million by Corinthians, who have already knocked back West Ham's opening proposal.

Another weekend of Serie A action has flown by and Inter Milan are a point closer to winning their 20th Scudetto championship. They are 14 points clear of AC Milan with just six games left to play, with the chasing pack failing to capitalise on Inter's 2-2 draw with Cagliari. In fact, only Lazio and Lecce left the weekend with victories as there was a remarkable seven draws in the nine games that were completed. Roma and Udinese were also on their way to a draw before the match was suspended after Evan Ndicka's collapse. Here, Mail Sport 's ALVISE CAGNAZZO has picked out 10 things we learned...

Rafael Leao confronted a journalist following AC Milan's loss to Roma in the Europa League.  The Rossoneris were defeat by their league rivals at the San Siro in quarter-final first leg on thursday night.  Leao had a performance to forget and was taken off after 78 minutes to be replaced by Noah Okafor. 

Antonio Cassano, a former Italy striker, doubted his potential and said he is not at the same level as Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden on Sunday, a coach who branded him a clown on social media. Cassano has never been afraid of sharing controversial viewpoints, and this time he turned his attention toward Leao. Despite Leao's 3-0 victory over Lecce on Saturday, he argued in front of millions of viewers live on television on the Italian show Domenica Sportiva that he is not a top player but an overrated one.

For Thursday's international friendly between Portugal and Sweden in Guimaraes, there are three 'Price Boosts' and a 'Scorecast Boost'. First, the three boosts are: 'Rafael Leao to score or assist' at 1/1, '2+ shots on target each team in each half at 11/2, and 'Bruno Fernandes to score from outside the region' at 11/1. The odds for those bets have risen from 4/5, 7/2, and 17/2 respectively.

In Italy, ALVISE CAGNAZZO reveals the winners, the continuation of good runs of form and more dissatisfaction with others, while some players are starting to find their form at a critical time of the season. Inter Milan's journey to the title began with a 4-0 thrashes of Lecce, whereas Juventus retained a solid hold on second place despite a stoppage time winner against Frosinone. AC Milan was held to a 1-1 draw at home against Atalanta, Elsewhere, the Roma boss's Daniele De Rossi's off-season was off to a rocky start as Roma's season began.

CRAIG HOPE AT ST. JAMES' PARK: Here's a chance to revive the soul two hours after Old Trafford fell into the midst of its latest nightmare. It wasn't the outcome they wanted, but St. James' Park was the real Theatre of Dreams for so long. On kick-off, Sir Bobby Robson's quote inspired us. "It's not beyond our wildest hopes because we did have wild dreams." In this tournament, Newcastle's former manager said that his side played against Barcelona in the Nou Camp 20 years ago. His words were recreated on a huge banner in the Gallowgate End, and the opening hour was a monumental display, both on and off the field. Despite the fact that it was an evening, it was one that should remind Newcastle's owners that they should consider twice before deciding against a super stadium. Here was a hot night under the lights on the back of a week where a move on Tyneside has sparked ferocious discussion for the first time.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe seems to be wasting no time stamping his authority on Manchester United's football operations. The INEOS billionaire, who will pay £1.3 billion for a 5 percent interest in Old Trafford, wants to appoint a new sporting director to control the club's player recruitment process. Ratcliffe will seek the sage assistance of legendary United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in order to make the correct appointment, which was revealed on Thursday. A number of candidates have applied for the position, some of whom are now in play and others outside of work, with some of whom are still in school and some out of work, and others who are still working, and others who are unemployed, and some of whom are still in school. We run the decision over the mooted candidates for this vital role as Ratcliffe comes to an end.

AC Milan came from behind to win their first match of the season and brought an end to a three-game wait for a Champions League victory with a 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain. Milan Skriniar scored his return to Milan in the Champions League in just eight minutes, presumably the one player that AC Milan would not have wanted to lose to after a good start to the game by the visitors.

Emre Can have gone from 5/6 to 1/1, while Rafael has widened the range from 5/8 to 5/2. Can has had nine fouls in his first four starts for Dortmund, as well as Leao's nine shots on target in his last nine games for Milan. The additional two price increases are for 'Olivier Giroud' to score a header' and the 'each team's to have 2+ shots on target in both halves', which are now priced at 8/1 and 10/3 respectively.

Rafael Leao was guilty of an incredible mistake that gave Newcastle off the hook as their Champions League opener at AC Milan ended goalless. After struggling to beat goalkeeper Nick Pope for the first time during a spectacular 34th-minute run but only succeeded in tripping himself, the Portugal international, who was Newcastle player Sandro Tonali's teammate before his £53 million summer transfer to Tyneside, completely fluffed his lines. On his return to European football's top table after a 20-year absence, Pope Francis will have already earned his share of good fortune after making five first-half saves in the space of six minutes.

Rafael was 'too clever for his own good,' after the AC Milan star had a chance to give the Italian giants a lead against Newcastle in the first half. In the 33rd minute of their Champions League group stage match, Leao had a spectacular run into the Newcastle box. The Portuguese forward weaved through three challenges in the box before attempting a back heel toward goal.

AC Milan's 5-1 loss to Inter Milan on Saturday was a worrying break ahead of their Champions League versus Newcastle on Tuesday. Pioli's team suffered with structural cracks and looked very limited in their first three Serie A matches of the season, as they were given a reality check in their quest to compete for the Scudetto. It was Milan's fifth straight loss in a single calendar year, and the club's leadership had a lot of rage. At San Siro, Milan was humiliated, and the team's appearance didn't take long.

More talking points have been raised in another weekend of Serie A action. Inter Milan and AC Milan continued their undefeated start to the season by winning three out of three and placing first in the standings at this early stage. Roma in Jose Mourinho's Roma, on the other hand, find themselves in the relegation zone and without their first victory of the season. They lacked in several critical areas once more. ALVISE CAGNAZZO of Mail Sport leads us through ten things you may have missed.