Hip-hop inspires Portuguese who beat Cristiano Ronaldo

In the song “Desabafo 2”, released in 2021, rapper Way 45 exposes the dramas he lived before reaching fame. “I came from where many suspect. / By color, sometimes they don’t respect. / I make the bed where I lie. / ‘Pa’ when I wake up, I don’t see surprises.”

The lyrics also speak of the cold relationship with her father, the pain of not having met her grandfather and the difficulties her mother overcame. “The mic [microfone] he is my cure”, sings in another passage. “My father is cold, but in him I saw the pain./ To see someone leave./ But in the countryside I give you reasons to smile.”

The field he cites is the other stage where he shines. Way 45 is actually the alter ego of Rafael Leão, 23, a Portuguese player who was the big name in Milan’s campaign last season, when the Italian team won the national championship again after 11 years.

Elected the best athlete of the competition, the striker is also considered in Europe the main Portuguese in activity in football. In this year’s Ballon d’Or awards, released by the French magazine France Football last week, he appears in 14th position, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, 20th in the ranking.

Since 2007, it is the first time that the player elected the best in the world by the magazine five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017) is not the highest ranked athlete in his country.

Rafael Leão, in turn, appeared in France Football’s election for the first time. His 14th place puts him as the best Serie A player on the list – Serbia’s Dušan Vlahović, from Juventus, in 17th place, also appears in the top 20.

The recognition of the Milan striker is mainly due to his role in the final stretch of the tournament. As the dispute with Inter Milan intensified, his goals and assists were decisive for the outcome of the competition, with his team two points ahead of the rival (86 to 84).

The Portuguese was the team’s top scorer with 11 goals – seven of them in the second round – and also the team’s biggest waiter, with eight assists, three in the last round, against Sassuolo, when Milan won 3-0 and confirmed the trophy.

During the celebration of the title, the club released images of the athletes’ party in the locker room and one of them caught attention. In it, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears tearing up praise for Leão, something that is not very common for the Swede, since he usually only makes public bows to himself.

“Where is Rafael? [Rafael Leão]? Come here, Rafael. It is our man, our phenomenon and our future. No more words are needed, my friend. You had a brilliant time. Keep your feet on the ground and work even harder because this is just the beginning”, said Ibrahimovic, hugging the athlete.

The two are very good friends. Portuguese people tend to value the importance of Swedish during their adaptation period. “Zlatan is an example. He taught me the importance of always being focused, even off the field.”

The teammate’s support helped him to overcome the first two seasons at Milan, in which the Portuguese oscillated between good and bad moments. It was a reflection of the move from modest Lille (FRA), for which he played just one season, to the Italian giants.

“I had come from France, where everything was small and life was very different. When you arrive in Milan, you know that you have to be a winner, that many legends have worn the same shirt, won so many titles. You feel it and live it right away”, he commented. the player, who had a rapid rise to the Italian giant.

Of Angolan descent, Rafael Leão was born in Almada, on the outskirts of Lisbon. He joined football early, at age 9, when he joined Sporting’s youth team. During this period, the boy was divided between the countryside and the beach. He loved going to the city of Nazaré, famous for its giant waves. It was there that he created his identification with surfing, which, like hip-hop, is very present in his life.

Despite having made all his base in Sporting, the athlete had few chances in the professional – only five games. The passage through Portuguese football was cut short in 2018, when fans invaded the CT to attack the players. After the episode, he managed to unilaterally terminate his contract and transfer to Lille.

The Portuguese club, however, appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where the athlete ended up being sentenced to pay a fine of 16.5 million euros (R$ 84.2 million at the current price). Due to interest, the amount has already reached 20 million euros (R$ 102 million).

Milan are willing to help the striker pay off the debt. For the club, this is a way of convincing him to renew his contract and extend the release clause – currently at 150 million euros (R$ 765 million).

Clubs like PSG and Chelsea have already shown interest in the Portuguese.

His future is handled by agent Jorge Mendes, the same person who takes care of Cristiano Ronaldo’s career. The businessman’s plan at the moment is not to let the issue interfere with the player’s performance in a World Cup year.

This is the seventh in a series of ten texts about players who can surprise at the 2022 World Cup. They are published on Tuesdays.