Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Dubai: Livewire Brazilian winger Leonardo has left 2016 AFC Champions League title winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to join United Arab Emirates top-flight side Al Jazira, it has been announced.
Leonardo, who sensationally helped guide Jeonbuk to their second continental crown in November, has signed with the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium outfit for an undisclosed fee, and is now expected to play a major role in Al Jazira’s quest for honours both domestically and in the AFC Champions League.
The 30-year-old joined Jeonbuk in 2012 from Greek side AEK Athens and subsequently won the 2014 and 2015 K League Classic titles with the Korea Republic powerhouse, before grabbing yet more headlines during a stellar continental campaign in 2016.
Despite a slow start to last year’s AFC Champions League, Leonardo went on to notch ten goals – including two in the first leg of the final against Al Ain – to finish as the competition’s second highest scorer behind FC Seoul’s Adriano.
Al Jazira finished seventh in the United Arab Emirates league in the 2015-16 season but earned a spot in the forthcoming AFC Champions League Group Stage by beating Al Ain on penalties to lift the President’s Cup.
In the 2017 edition of Asia’s premier club competition, Dutch coach Henk ten Cate’s charges have been drawn in Group B where they will face Iran’s Esteghlal Khouzestan, Lekhwiya from Qatar and a yet to be determined Play-off winner.
Photo: Lagardère Sports