It's no secret that the modern Portuguese team rests exclusively on Cristiano Ronaldo - one of the best football players in the world today. However, this was not always the case - at the beginning of the millennium there were quite a lot of high-class Portuguese players, one of which was Rui Costa. This playmaker inspired fear throughout Europe, he managed to achieve impressive results at the club level, so you should pay attention to his biography. Now, unfortunately, there are not many players of the Costa level who are able to do with the ball what he knew how to do. Rui Costa is a Portuguese legend. He became famous at the club level.
First rental
Already at the age of five, Rui Costa was enrolled in the football academy of one of the strongest clubs in Portugal - “Benfica”. In 1990, at the age of 18, he signed a professional contract with Benfica, but no one immediately planned to put it at the base - no matter how talented the 18-year-old boy was, there was no place for him so far. And the management made the most correct decision - Rui Costa went on a lease for a year to the weaker Portuguese club Fafe. There he immediately got a place in the first team and spent 38 matches, scoring six goals. Such appearances naturally convinced Benfica bosses that the young talent deserves closer attention. And the next year, the 19-year-old midfielder got a seat at the base already in Benfica.
Three years in a native club
The most interesting thing you can learn about such an athlete as Rui Costa is a biography. The rating of the best football players included him in his list at the very beginning of his career, and every year the Portuguese became more masterful.
In the three years that the football player spent in Benfica, he played 111 matches and scored 19 goals - this suggests that from the very first days he was entrusted with a place at the base, and Costa did not let us down - he became one of the key players. Moreover, Rui turned out to be the creator of the club’s success - with it, first in 1993 Benfica won the Portuguese Cup, and then in 1994 the Portuguese Championship. In his native club, footballer Rui Costa achieved everything that he could have dreamed of, and he needed a new challenge, a step forward. Therefore, at the age of 22, the midfielder moved to Fiorentina, one of the strongest clubs in Italy, which paid five and a half million euros for the Portuguese.
New challenge
It was in Fiorentina that Rui Costa, whose biography (team achievements play a very important role here), which is now reaching its peak, spent most of his career seven years. During this time, he managed to become a key player, captain and legend of the club, having played 275 matches and scored fifty goals in them.
Violets were one of the most prominent clubs in Italy, but far from the strongest. Over these seven years, the club has achieved the same thing as Benfica in three years (and even less, given the championship title is more important than the Cup).
In 1996 and 2001, Rui Costa together with Fiorentina won the country's cup. Naturally, towards the end of his career, when Costa was 29 years old, he wanted something more. And in 2001 there was a record transfer - while for many leading players they paid 10, a maximum of 20 million euros, for Milan Rui Costa laid out as many as 42.
Reaching the top
In “Milan”, at that time one of the strongest clubs in Italy, Rui Costa spent five seasons, playing 192 matches and scoring 11 goals. Again, he played a key role, and this led to the fact that in 2003, Milan took the Italian Cup and the Champions League. And in the next season he collected even more trophies - the Italian Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. In addition, the Italian Championship was won. The 33-year-old Costa left Milan as a winner, but he decided not to end his career, but to return to his homeland - to Benfica, which he got absolutely free.
Return to Benfica
The last two years of his career, Costa spent in his native club, playing for him another 67 matches and scoring 11 goals. During this period, the club did not achieve any serious results, but this did not stop the player.
Having completed the player’s career, he immediately took up the post of sports director, who has not left to this day. And during this time he did a lot for Benfica - with his competent transfer policy, he attracted leading players and young talents to the club, which led to a new upsurge.