It feels like a lifetime ago that Helder Costa was flying down the wing for Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa, but a lot has changed since then.
He arrived at Elland Road amid plenty of excitement. Leeds had brought in a player who had already helped Wolves win promotion and had the pace, trickery and experience to suggest he could make a real impact under Bielsa.
For a while, it looked like the move might work perfectly.
Costa played 43 times in all competitions during Leeds’ promotion-winning campaign, scoring four goals, before his £16m move from Wolves was made permanent.
The Premier League proved a different story, though.
His first season contained some memorable moments, including two goals against Fulham, but Costa gradually slipped down the pecking order. He eventually left Leeds in 2023 after loan spells at Valencia and Al-Ittihad, having made 71 appearances and scored eight goals for the club.
Since then, his career has taken a turn few Leeds fans would have predicted.
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Costa has gone back to where it all began
He spent time at Estoril before moving to China with Yunnan Yukun in 2025. He was then without a club for almost a year.
At 32, plenty of players at that stage of their careers might be looking for one final move somewhere familiar. Costa has done something rather different.
He has gone back to Angola.
The former Leeds winger signed a two-year deal with Petro de Luanda in May, joining the reigning Angolan champions and embarking on his first spell playing professional football in Africa.
There is something quite fitting about it.
His career has gone full circle
Costa was born in Luanda but moved to Portugal as a youngster and came through the Benfica academy. His career subsequently took him to Spain, France, England, Saudi Arabia, Portugal and China before eventually bringing him back to his birthplace.
And he is not simply there to make up the numbers.
Petro are one of the biggest clubs in Angola and will compete domestically as well as in the CAF Champions League. Costa has already made seven appearances this season and registered an assist.
It is certainly not the career path Leeds supporters would have expected when Costa was starring in Bielsa’s promotion-winning team. But football careers rarely follow a straight line.
For Costa, the latest chapter has brought him full circle.
