Leonardo Araújo

Leonardo began his career with the Brazilian club Flamengo in 1987; at just 17, he was given the opportunity to play with his hero Zico plus Leandro, Bebeto and Renato Gaúcho, and to take part in winning his first Brazilian championship. In 1990, Leonardo signed with São Paulo, and in 1991, Leonardo, Raí, and other young talents were assembled as part of the so-called 'esquadrão tricolor' ("three-coloured squad") under the command of Brazilian legend Telê Santana, giving Leonardo his second Brazilian championship. Later that year, he made the switch to European football, signing with the Spanish club Valencia. After two seasons with Valencia, he returned to Brazil for a brief stint with São Paulo in 1993, during which time the team won several titles, including the prestigious Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup. In 1994, after the World Cup, Leonardo signed with the Kashima Antlers of the newly formed Japanese J1 League. Leonardo continued his success in Kashima, again playing with his idol and friend Zico. In 1996, he returned to Europe, this time signing with French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), where he again proved to be successful, one of his goals helping them to oust Liverpool out of the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. At this point in his career, Leonardo had mostly stopped playing as a left-back and moved into the midfield, sometimes on the left flank, as a winger and sometimes in the centre, as an advanced playmaker, or as a supporting striker,…

Leonardo was part of the Brazil under-20 team that placed third in the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. He made his full international debut for Brazil in 1990. He was selected as a left-back for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, keeping the young Roberto Carlos out of the team, much to the latter's chagrin. Leonardo played well in the first group games but was then given a four-match suspension for elbowing the American midfielder Tab Ramos in the head in the round of 16, causing a skull fracture that hospitalized him for three and a half months. Leonardo's suspension prevented him from participating in the remainder of the competition. At the time, it was the second longest ban imposed in World Cup history, after Italian defender Mauro Tassotti's eight-game suspension for breaking the nose of Spaniard Luis Enrique in the quarter-final at the same tournament. The record was broken when Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez was banned for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini in his team's final group match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Brazil went on to win the title, defeating Italy on penalties in the final after a 0–0 draw. In 1995, he took part in the Copa América with Brazil, where the team reached the final, scoring one goal in 3–0 win over Colombia in the team's final group match; Leonardo did not feature in the final, however, in which Brazil lost out to hosts Uruguay 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. In 1997, Leonardo was given the number 10 shirt for the national team. He…

A versatile left-footed midfielder, Leonardo was capable of playing in several positions along the pitch; his favoured role was as a playmaker in midfield, either as a left winger, or in a more central role, as an attacking midfielder or as a supporting striker, due to his ability to create chances for teammates, although he was also capable of functioning as a central midfielder, in a deep-lying playmaking role, as a forward, and was even deployed as left-back or wing-back throughout his career, in particular in his youth. An elegant and creative player, Leonardo was mainly regarded for his outstanding technical skills, as well as his vision, and tactical intelligence as a footballer, which made him an excellent assist provider, although he was capable of scoring goals, as well as creating them, due to his accuracy from set-pieces and powerful striking ability from distance, and was known to be a specialist from dead ball situations. Despite his talent and reputation as one of the best Brazilian men's footballers of his generation, he was also often injury prone throughout his career.

Leonardo was born and raised in Niterói, Brazil. Divorced from his first wife with whom he had three children (one boy, two girls), he is married to Sky Italia presenter Anna Billó, with whom he has two sons.