Tottenham now reportedly want to sign Portuguese player who was ‘better than Cristiano Ronaldo’ as a youngster

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Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Portuguese striker Rafael Leao in recent days – and his former coach says he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo as a youngster.

Leao has made a huge impact at AC Milan since making the switch from LOSC Lille back in 2019. The striker scored 11 goals in Serie A last season, while providing 10 assists to help Milan regain the Serie A title.

The 23-year-old has been in similarly lethal form this season and Calciomercato.It reported yesterday that Spurs are now one of the clubs interested in signing him.

And one of his former coaches from Sporting Lisbon once said that he was better than football legend Crisitano Ronaldo at youth level.

Leao better than Ronaldo as youngster

Both Leao and Ronaldo are products of the successful Sporting academy set-up in Portugal.

The Milan striker’s former academy coach Tiago Fernandes was full of praise when talking about the player back in 2019.

“I pushed [then-Sporting coach] Jorge Jesus to take him in the first team and I said to him: ‘Yes, Gelson Martins has talent but Rafael is the best player in the history of the Sporting Academy’. At youth level, he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo,” he told L’Equipe.

“When he decides to be decisive, he is. He just has to ‘click’ and he does it. There are players that if they force it, it doesn’t work all the time. With him, you say to yourself, what potential, what power!

“The big problem he had was complacency. I tried to move him because I was one of the oldest.” as transcribed by Goal.com.

It’s big praise for Leao to be told he was better than one of the best players in football history as a youngster. It may have seemed like a big claim at the time but the Portugal international has now enjoyed a real breakthrough year in Italy.

It would certainly be an excellent coup for Antonio Conte and Spurs if they were able to sign him.
The Athletic reports that Leao’s contract is set to run until 2024, meaning he could become available at an affordable price next year.

But there’s no doubt that Spurs would face stiff competition for his signature, especially after his brilliant start to the current season.