The Forgotten Legend Who Sacrificed His Legacy To Save His Childhood Club

I think the reason Rui Costa isn't remembered that much, is that he always put the glory of his clubs above his own glory. Working hard and becoming the best he could to serve his clubs, rather than doing it for his own fame and fortune. I love players who show this much dedication to their clubs. Rui Costa isn't just a legendary player, but a legend of a human as well.

Shame how players like him often get forgotten over time

An additional piece of trivia about his return as a player to Benfica: Knowing the club lacked the financial strength to pay for his wages, he agreed to sign the contract without negotiating his wage at all, leaving total freedom for the club to decide how much he would earn. All he wanted was to play for his club one last time, and he wouldn't put a price on it.

in Italy we loved him independently on which team He played. A phenomenal person and player in the golden age of Italian Clubs!

I'm from the UK. Rui is not forgotten. Real fans know him. I didn't know his history at Benfica (thank you for that), but I knew of him at Fiorentina, Milan and Portugal. World class player. He will never be forgotten. ❤️

Rui Costa is a very underrated all time great.

Growing up as a Nigerian kid in that era, we had no access to live matches, but i always catch-up with Italian Serie A highlight just to watch Manuel Rui Costa.... He was such a delight to watch. To me, he is the best European playmaker ever

that ending part with him being president of benfica gave me chills... what a player he was

As a Fiorentina fan Batistuta and Rui Costa were before my era but my dad's generation talk about the two like gods, the stadium was packed in those days to the point where people would sit on the stairs. The Artemio Franchi and the city of Florence were at their golden age, even now whenever Rui Costa or Batistuta attend our matches its unbelievable. Rui Costa was a legend, and Florence will forever call him one of our best.

As some one who watched Serie A religiously in the early 2000's, it hurts me that the new generation doesn't know about this legend, he's one of the most elegant players I have ever seen. On that note I also remember Alvaro Recoba at Inter Milan was also magical.

Somehow I've never thought this way of Rui Costa and this documentary made me cry ... what a Legend!

My favourite player ever. Elegant, intelligent, brilliant. His long passes destroyed so many defences. Rui Costa was a genius.

Rui Costa and Roberto Donadoni - 2 of Milan's best midfielders ever, yet 2 of the most underrated compared with Kaka, Pirlo, Gullit, Seedorf etc.

No Milan fan can forgets abour Rui Costa. He was a MONSTER. Only reason why he isn't talked about even more by Milan fans is because he played half his tanure alongside Kaka.

As a Benfica fan, I was just a young boy and I remember watching him crying when he scored against us and we still loved him. He is now Benfica President and one that definitely has the best interest of the club at heart.

I will never forget his assist to Sheva against Real Madrid. He's never forgotten in Milano ❤️🖤

It's always unfortunate to see great talents fade into obscurity over time, but it's even more so when the player in question is also such a likeable person. I always used to play as Milan when playing FIFA 2005 and him and Inzaghi were my favourites of that team. However, the moment that I really understood what an amazing legend Rui Costa is, was when my younger brother went on trial at Benfica in the summer of 2014. My family is part Portuguese part Dutch, but we've always lived in the Netherlands and so my little bro and I never learned to speak Portuguese fluently. My brother played for Ajax before and after showing promise on that summer trial in Lisbon, Benfica TV wanted to do an interview with him for a news item about foreign youth players. There was just one problem... my brother didn't speak Portuguese and the interviewer didn't speak English. Luckily president Rui Costa was in attendance, as he was watching the training session. When he saw my brother was struggling with his Portuguese, he jumped in and started doing the interview in English instead! I couldn't believe what was happening in front of me. Club legend and president Rui Costa was being so welcoming and helpful to my little brother and I will never forget that. He's so not just a football legend. He's a great human being. The best part is that my brother didn't even recognize Rui Costa at that very moment. He was so nervous and glad that someone helped him out, that it just hadn't occurred to him who he was talking to. Can't really blame him, because this happening isn't really something you'd expect at all. When the interview was done, my mom (who does speak Portuguese) went on to thank Rui Costa for being so kind. She then told my brother what had happened and he couldn't believe it. It really showed the selflessness of Rui Costa. He just wants the best for the club and every player playing there. He deserves to be remembered for his footballing talents, but even more for his class. Great video on a great man!

I remember watching Rui Costa alongside Batistuta, Edmundo and Toldo, back in the 90s, with Fiorentina. Magical player, playing in what was a magical time in Italian football.

Rui Costa was so professional and loyal to the clubs he played for, despite the admiration from a lot of top other clubs, he always kept his head down. TRUE LEGEND OF THE GAME. Thanks for uploading this video.

Rui Costa was an incredible player. One of my biggest inspirations on the field. He is one of my idols, and one of my club's legends.