Former Roma defender Leandro Castan has disclosed that the Italian club concealed his life-threatening brain tumour diagnosis from him, and he only learned of his condition through a post on Twitter (now X). The 38-year-old Brazilian, who played six seasons in Serie A, recounted his ordeal to Corriere della Sera.
Castan fell ill during a match against Empoli and was substituted at half-time. He said: 'In those 15 minutes, my career ended. A part of me died.' After an MRI scan, club doctors sent him home without revealing the diagnosis. 'The first 15 days were terrible. I couldn’t stand up, I vomited a lot, I lost 20 kg,' he recalled.
He discovered the truth when he saw an article on Twitter: 'Leandro Castan has a tumour, he could die.' Castan said: 'Fear overwhelmed me. I still didn’t know what I had. No one had told me anything. Neither the club nor the doctors. No one.'
Weeks later, doctors informed him he had a cerebral cavernoma and that he must either stop playing football or undergo risky surgery. Castan initially refused surgery but changed his mind after watching a Roma match on TV. He underwent the operation, which was successful, but faced a difficult recovery. 'I had to learn how to live again. At first it was hard just picking up a glass from a table,' he said.
Castan expressed gratitude to Roma and Italy for their support. 'What the fans, Sabatini, team-mates did for me is incredible: they gave me the best care, paid my wages and renewed my contract even without playing.' He now works as a coach in Brazil.
