Rui Costa Biography

Rui Costa was a great Portuguese footballer who played for

, Fiorentina, and Milan, and at the national level, he played 94 games for the Portugal national team. Rui Costa was so talented that he joined Benfica's academy at the age of five, where he played for several years. It should be said that Benfica's academy has always been famous and entering this academy requires a lot of talent and determination.

Rui Costa, who later established himself as one of the best, along with stars such as Luis Figo, Deco, and other stars, is among the golden generation of Portugal who, despite their great skills, did not win any special trophies. However, everyone believes that these stars made a big difference in Portuguese football. Portuguese legend Eusebio knew that Rui was set to become a big star.

Rui Costa is known as the best no.10 player in the history of Portugal, who started his football career with Benfica and then decided to go abroad and play for two prestigious Italian clubs, Fiorentina and AC Milan. Rui Costa, despite playing excellent football during his career, never had the chance to win a particular individual achievement in football.

The former Benfica player, who is now the sporting director of the club, officially retired from football on May 8, 2008, during Benfica's match against

. Rui Costa's farewell took place in front of thousands of Benfica fans at the Estadio da Luz stadium.

Rui Costa nationality

is Portuguese and he is known as one of the top attacking-midfielders of all-time. Rui Costa was one of the most technical and creative players in the world of football. In fact, Rui Costa is a myth in all the teams he has played for. Today, if you ask all the fans of Benfica, Fiorentina, and Milan, they will definitely answer that Rui Costa is the legend of their club. Stay tuned as we take a look at Rui Costa biography.

All You Need to Know About Rui Costa Biography

In Portugal, just like in Brazil, there are many football talents that are very important to discover and develop. In fact, the discovery of Rui Costa by Benfica's academy was not difficult at all as he was chosen by the club's legends and managers. Rui Costa had big aspirations, which motivated him to join the first team of Benfica very quickly.

After 4 years of playing for his childhood team, he moved to Italy and Florence, the city of art. He joined Fiorentina's dream team in 1994. Viola was getting weaker year by year, and despite having stars such as Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa, the team was relegated to Serie B. Everyone was amazed to see the fall of the Purples, but Costa remained in Florence. He did not leave his team and came back to Serie A again. Winning the Italian Cup and winning the Italian Super Cup brought Rui Costa and his team back to the headlines and top tier.

The people of Florence, who had previously seen Roberto Baggio's transfer to Juventus and Batistuta to

, had no choice but to get over with Rui Costa's farewell. AC Milan was Rui costa's next destination. After 275 games and 50 goals in Fiorentina's jersey. Rui Costa was set to join AC Milan.

Rui Costa Information

In this part of Rui Costa biography, you could find some general information about Rui Costa listed down here.

Rui Costa Bio

• Full Name: Rui Manuel Cesar Costa

• Nickname: “The Maestro”

• Profession: Former Professional Football Player | Sporting Director

Rui Costa Physical Stats

• Weight: 74 Kilograms

• Height: 1.80 Meters

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Dark Brown

Rui Costa Football Information

• Position: Midfielder

• Jersey Number: 10

• Professional Debut: 1990

Rui Costa Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 29 March 1972

• Birth Place: Amadora, Portugal

• Zodiac Sign: Aries

• Nationality: Portuguese

Rui Costa Early Life

Rui Costa was born on March 29, 1972 in Amadora,

.

Rui Costa childhood

was full of great and beautiful dreams. Rui Costa had big dreams as a child, one of which was to become one of Portugal's best players. That's why he started playing football at a very young age.

Costa's talent was soon seen by the scouts and he joined Benfica's academy. Costa's goal was clear, so he knew what he wants from the very beginning. His impressive play and fantastic passes made him a great midfielder. 

Member of the ‘Golden generation’ of Portugal that won the 1991 World Youth Championship under Carlos Queiroz coaching, Rui Costa was among the stars of the tournament, scoring the winner in the 1-0 semi-final victory over Australia and converting the crucial penalty in the shootout triumph against

in the final.

Rui Costa, who had surprised many with his amazing abilities, was soon able to reach an advanced level. Relying on Eusebio's trust, Rui Costa progressed by leaps and bounds, headed towards a position that promised the rise of a star.

Rui Costa life story

is filled with memories of joyful youth memories and, of course, great successes at Benfica, Fiorentina, AC Milan, and the Portugal national team.

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Rui Costa Profile

In this section of

Rui Costa biography

, we will take a look at his professional career from his early days until now that he is sporting director of Benfica. Rui Costa was one of the most famous players in the world of football and won many trophies with

and Milan in the 1990s and 2000s. His clever passes, creativity, physical strength, and pure Portuguese technique made has made him an unforgettable no.10 in the history of Benfica. He belonged to the golden generation of Portugal, which in those years became the model of the current generation of this country.

Before retiring, Rui Costa decided to play for Benfica once again. The same club where he started his football career. It was in 2006 that Rui returned to Benfica, where he learned everything from his academy and spent the first four seasons of his professional career. Rui Costa’s most fabulous trick was to be a master of disguise. At the highest level, all footballers possess the skills to embarrass an opponent; the trick is to overwhelm but Rui Costa was impossible to read.

Every dip of the body and movement of the foot away from the ball was done with a purpose, gaining him extra time to plan his next move. It made him one of the most elegant footballers of the last two decades. His interest in Benfica had not decreased. In 2006, Rui Costa agreed to significantly reduce his contract to complete his last two seasons with the Eagles. When it was time to say goodbye, he was greeted with a heroic farewell at the Estadio da Luz.

Fans with teary eyes cheered him on. His teammates gathered in the middle of the field to hug him, even the opposing players could not stand it and praised him, as a person who has inspired many Portuguese starlets. A banner hung in the stadium: "Thank you, Maestro, for yesterday, for today, and tomorrow ..." as if an emotional scene from a movie was playing. After Rui Costa's retiring, football fans around the world wondered what would happen to the Maestro.

The question was answered very soon, and the next day, Rui Costa was introduced as Benfica's new sporting director. The club wanted to use his high intelligence, leadership power, and the ability to recognize talents. So Costa had to play an important role in Benfica's sporting development. Stay tuned to read more about Rui Costa Biography and get to know him better.

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Style of Play

Following Rui Costa’s style of play now, the most interesting thing is how he was good at passes, especially through balls that were destroying a defensive line. His talent was not playing a 30-yard curled cross or no-look pass but delivering accurate passes. Rui Costa had a vision and that vision was crucial.

The real point of the Rui Costa skill was his unstoppable passes. Like, a defender knew where the ball was going, but he could not stop it, and that was probably what made Costa so special and unattainable. Rui Costa would do it all with the insouciance that made it look simple.

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Reception

Rui Costa is 48 years old and is the sporting director of Benfica. Rui Costa is a well-known person all around the world and maybe many stars of the new generation of Portugal football, have become interested in football by watching Rui Costa's games.

Of course, Costa was not only limited to Portugal, and all kids around the world loved his style of play. Rui Costa also has a place in the Hall of Fame of

, Benfica, and Fiorentina clubs, and this shows how influential and popular Rui Costa has been at the time of the playing.

Goal Celebration

Some players have strange goal celebrations and even many of them will be remembered because of these goal celebrations, but this was not the case with Costa as he was mostly known for the quality of his game. Rui Costa's goal celebration was an interesting one. The Portuguese star used to kiss his fingers after scoring. He then would raise his hand and hug his teammates. Since Rui Costa was more comfortable with the assists, so he did not have much opportunity to work on his goal celebration.

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Rui Costa Outside Football

Costa was popular both on and off the pitch. In fact, he had a calm personality off the pitch and was highly respected in the football community. Of course, like all Portuguese, he was a passionate man, but he was always careful not to be a bad role model for young people.

Many know him for his loyalty to Fiorentina, Benfica, and AC Milan. He never gave up in difficult times, and on the contrary, he tried hard to make things right. If you are looking for one of the most gentle players in the history of football, you will definitely come across the name Rui Costa. Stay tuned to read more about 

Rui Costa biography

 and get to know him better.

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Rui Costa Personal Life

As of 2021, Rui Costa’s is not dating anyone. Rui Costa married Rute in 1993, and the couple had a good life until 2013. There is not much information available about the reason, but the couple got divorced in 2013.

In general, Rui Costa does not have special hobbies. For instance, he has little interest in "party life" and tattoos. Spending time with his sons is the most fun part of the day and he tries to be in good physical shape even at the age of 42. We should also note that 

Rui Costa religion

 is Christianity.

Family, Children and Relationships

Rui and Rute, Rui Costa’s Ex-wife, have two sons named Hugo and Filipe. Rui prefers to spend most of his time with his sons. He is also working hard at Benfica as he wants to make the club stronger than before.

Rui Costa had the opportunity to have a relationship after the divorce and start all over again, but he prefers to with family and work harder for the future of his sons. He has never been seen coming out of nightclubs and has never had such a personality. Family, children, and relationships are important concepts for Costa, which is why he tries to be very careful in his behavior.

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Philanthropy

Rui Costa has a very close relationship with charity stars; an organization that collects shirts and photos signed by celebrities and puts them up for auction and donates the money to homeless and abandoned children. This is a very saint act, and it's just one of the things that Rui Costa does.

Rui Costa also helps " Fondazione Milan”. Fondazione Milan was established in 2003 with the aim of offering social engagement from AC Milan to meet the needs of local communities in difficult and socially emarginated circumstances. The foundation intends to build a world that helps young people to grow through sport No wonder, we said that

is an exceptional person. Keep reading to know more about Rui Costa Biography and see if he has had any legal issues so far or not.

Legal Issues

Rui Costa, unlike many other players, has not been charged with tax evasion and has not committed any corrupt acts. As we have said, you will rarely find a person who is as honest and great as Rui Costa. Given that there is nothing specific about Rui Costa's legal issues or at least we do not have specific information, we go to the next part, the Rui Costa career statistics part.

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Rui Costa Career Statistics

Milan paid a lot of money to sign the stars in those years. With the signing of Alessandro Nesta from

, Inzaghi from Juventus, Pirlo, and Seedorf from

, and Costa from Fiorentina, they took big steps towards building one of the best teams in European history. Costa would slip like a fish between the defenders and make a great opportunity with his devastating passes and deadly technical shots. "Kaka" was very lucky to have a master like Rui Costa. Prior to joining AC Milan for €42m, a milestone in the history of AC Milan and Fiorentina, Rui Costa joined Fiorentina from Benfica for €5.50m and that was a turning point in his career.

Club

Rui Costa statistics are just fantastic. When he played for the Benfica, he recorded 12 goals and 12 assists in 79 games. After moving to Fiorentina, Rui Costa, recorded 50 goals and 20 assists in 279 games. These goals and assists were also very valuable in Liga Nos and Serie A since Rui proved that his abilities and talents should not be underestimated.

When Rui Costa joined AC Milan in 2001, he raised his stats to a more efficient level. In his first season, the 2001-02 season, he recorded 3 goals and 11 assists. He recorded one goal and 17 assists next season and 3 goals and 9 assists in the 2003-04 season. Rui Costa also recorded another 4 goals and 9 assists in the next seasons before returning to Benfica. These numbers are really hard to achieve. He helped Milan win many titles in the Champions League and thanks to this, was able to find a place in the hearts of the Rossoneri fans.

International

Rui Costa has played for the Portugal Under-18, Under-20 and Under-21 national teams. He even played in 96 games for Portugal and was able to record 22 goals and 7 assists and appear very effective. In fact, when he was 21, he finally made his way to the first team, while the head coach of Portugal in those days was Carlos Queiroz.

Rui Costa was one of the most important players in Portugal's golden generation. In those days, the likes of Luis Figo, Nuno Gomes, and Vitor Baia were very good, great, and talented, but unfortunately, they could not win any important trophy at the international level. Stay tuned to read more about

Rui Costa biography

and find out what awards and titles he has won.

Managerial

Rui Costa is Benfica's sporting director and has close ties to the first team and the scouts. His main task is helping young players make their way to the first team. The latter was his most important work.

All talent's data end up on Costa's desk. Sometimes, when it comes to important and influential transfer targets, he is the "Winner" who finishes the negotiations. For instance, his role in signing players like Pablo Aimar is undeniable - it is said that Aimar was very hesitant in choosing Benfica, which led Rui Costa to travel to

three times and convince him to join Benfica. Of course, he does not manage all the negotiations. The club's chairman tends to use other people and Jorge Mendes in the rest of the negotiations.

Benfica is a club that focuses on its transfer policy: developing and selling. This policy is the only way for them to be able to compete with the big teams of the five major European leagues. So the role of Costa is extremely important in improving the talents of the academy, and of course, he manages this role very well. Players such as

and Renato Sanches have repeatedly spoken about Costa's work and the advice they have received from him to become a professional footballer.

Costa's almost total control over the signings, sales, and transfer of academy players to the first team has allowed Benfica's net debt to be reduced by €189.5m from June 2016 to December 2020. Also, Benfica, in the fiscal year 2018-19, experienced an extraordinary profit of €300m. You may not hear much about Rui Costa, but at the same time, he has made Benfica one of the largest talent factories in Europe with his own responsibility. It is no coincidence that Benfica fans want him to replace the current president of the club.

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Rui Costa Honors

There are not many Portuguese players who have won more honors than Rui Costa. Maybe we could just say that Cristiano Ronaldo is ahead of the rest of the players, and then maybe we can mention Luis Figo and Rui Costa.

The fantastic midfielder won a Primeira Liga and a Super Cup at Benfica. He then won two

and one Italian Super Cup at Fiorentina. Rui Costa's championships in Milan were more interesting as they once won the UEFA Super Cup, a Coppa Italia, an Italian Super Cup, a Scudetto, and a Champions League.

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