André Filipe Ribeiro Leão (born 20 May 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for F.C. Paços de Ferreira as a defensive midfielder.
Club career
Early years
Leão was born in Freamunde. After a brief spell with FC Porto's reserves, he made his professional debuts at Aveiro's S.C. Beira-Mar, his Primeira Liga debut coming on 17 September 2006 in a 2–0 home win against C.F. Estrela da Amadora where he came on as a 76th-minute substitute.
Leão was used regularly during that season, but only won one of the matches in which he appeared and his club was relegated.
Cluj / Paços Ferreira
Leão then moved to Romania with CFR Cluj, joining a host of compatriots and winning the Liga I championship in his debut campaign, appearing in 15 games. However, he would be rarely used during his two-and-a-half-year spell, and returned to his country in the late hours of the January 2010 transfer window, joining F.C. Paços de Ferreira.
In the 2010 off-season, Swansea City of the Football League Championship made an offer to sign Leão, but nothing came of it. He started in all his 29 league appearances in 2012–13 (two goals), as Paços finished a best-ever third and qualified to the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever.
Valladolid
On 12 June 2014, aged 29, Leão signed a three-year contract with Spanish club Real Valladolid. He made his competitive debut on 23 August, playing the 90 minutes in a 2–1 Segunda División home defeat of RCD Mallorca.
Leão was an undisputed starter during his three-year spell at the Estadio José Zorrilla, playing 107 overall games.
Paços return
On 13 July 2017, after alleging personal problems, Leão was transferred back to his previous club Paços Ferreira.