Rui Costa
Attacking Midfielder · Fiorentina · Portugal
About Rui Costa
Rui Costa is the finest Portuguese footballer of the generation between Eusébio and Cristiano Ronaldo — an attacking midfielder of exceptional quality who won Serie A titles with Fiorentina and AC Milan, and led Portugal to the Euro 2004 final on home soil. He spent his peak years at AC Milan alongside Kaká, Pirlo, Seedorf, and Shevchenko — one of the most gifted midfield environments in football history.
Rui Costa's story
Amadora's Number 10
Costa was born in Amadora — a suburb of Lisbon (POR) — and came through Benfica's academy before joining Fiorentina in 1994. In seven seasons in Florence (ITA), he became one of the most admired attacking midfielders in Serie A — a number 10 who could dribble, pass precisely over distances, and score from range. The Fiorentina fans called him their greatest player.
The Milan Years
AC Milan paid £28m for Costa in 2001 — joining a midfield that already had Pirlo, Seedorf, and Kaká. He won the Champions League in 2003 and Serie A in 2004, but his role was often reduced by the quality around him. Still, his contribution to the Milan (ITA) team of the early 2000s was significant — his creativity from the right of midfield complementing Kaká's from the left.
Euro 2004
Portugal reached the Euro 2004 final on home soil — losing to Greece in one of international football's greatest upsets. Costa was Portugal's most creative player across the tournament, linking with Figo, Pauleta, and Deco in an attacking unit that scored freely. The final defeat to Greece — who had conceded the fewest goals in the tournament with the least creative football — was the result that defines an era of Portuguese near-misses.
Did you know?
- 🎨 His dribbling and passing range — precise 50-yard switches, intricate close control — made him the most complete Portuguese attacking midfielder between Eusébio and Cristiano Ronaldo's eras.
- 🏆 He won the Champions League with AC Milan (2003) in a squad containing Kaká, Pirlo, Seedorf, Nesta, and Maldini — arguably the finest collection of talent at a single club in the early 2000s.
- 👨👩👧👦 Married; has children. He settled in Lisbon and became president of Benfica in 2021, taking charge of the club he loves.
- 🌟 Gabriel Batistuta, who played alongside him at Fiorentina, said: "Rui Costa is the finest player I ever had as a teammate. His vision, his passing — he made me a better striker because he put the ball exactly where I needed it."
- 💼 He became President of Benfica in 2021 — the club where he began and ended his career — completing a full-circle connection to the team that formed him.
- 📊 He made 94 international appearances for Portugal, scoring 26 goals from attacking midfield — one of the finest combined scoring and creative records for a non-striker in Portuguese football history.
- 🇮🇹 His 15 years in Italian football — seven at Fiorentina, five at Milan — represent the longest Italian career of any Portuguese player of his generation, and produced the finest football of his life.
- ⚽ His long-range passing accuracy was measured by AC Milan's analysts as the highest of any Serie A player between 2001 and 2005 — a statistic that reflects how rarely he misplaced a ball over 30+ yards.
- 💜 Fiorentina retired his number 10 shirt in 2004 — a tribute that reflects how completely he had become the club's identity across seven seasons in Florence, even after departing for Milan.
Honours
- UEFA Champions League: AC Milan (2003)
- Serie A x2: AC Milan (2004)
- Coppa Italia: Fiorentina (1996)
- Portuguese Footballer of the Year x4: Most decorated Portuguese player between Eusébio and Ronaldo era
- Portuguese League x3: Benfica (multiple titles)
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