03-08-2025
'I found out on Twitter I had a brain tumour and could die – my diagnosis was hidden from me'
Former Brazilian international Leandro Castan has opened up on the brain tumour that nearly ended his life and how doctors at Italian club Roma kept him in the dark about his condition
Former Roma defender Leandro Castan has revealed that the Italian club hid his life-threatening brain tumour diagnosis from him. Brazilian-born Castan, 38, played in Serie A for six seasons.
The centre-back has now recounted his story on how the devastating illness reshaped his life. Shockingly, the former Brazil international, once highly rated, opened up on how he learned of his condition from Twitter, now known as X.
His ordeal began during a game with Empoli, when Castan was forced to leave the pitch at half-time after falling ill. He explained to Corriere della Sera: "In those 15 minutes, my career ended."
He added: "A part of me died. During the warm-up, I felt discomfort in my flexor muscle. At the end of the first half, Maicon told [former Roma manager] Rudi Garcia: 'Castan isn't well.'
"I was substituted. I left the pitch, forever. When I got home, I started to feel unwell. The next morning, things got worse; my head was spinning. I thought I was going to die."
Castan then went for a check up and despite his condition violently worsening, club doctors refused to enlighten him on just what was going on.
He said: "Immediately. After an MRI scan, they sent me home. The club doctor was worried but didn't tell me what was wrong. I never thought I could experience something like this. The first 15 days were terrible. I couldn't stand up, I vomited a lot, I lost 20 kg. I had no strength. At first, Roma chose to hide everything. I decided to isolate myself and delete social media. But one day I looked at my phone.
"An article on Twitter: 'Leandro Castan has a tumour, he could die.' 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. 'Stay calm,' they kept telling me. Then I remembered my grandfather had died from brain cancer. I thought fate might be the same for me.
"I found myself in a hospital bed with a tumour in my head. I had to learn to live again, a different life, and fight with an illness that was slowly growing inside me. I did everything to get back to my level. Everything. It wasn't possible."
Castan then touched upon just how life-threatening his diagnosis was, forcing him to leave the game he loves, behind. He said that his only choice was the terrifying prospect of risky surgery.
"Weeks later, they told me I had a cerebral cavernoma. I would have to say goodbye to football," he added. "Darkness invaded my mind. I was confused. When I arrived at the clinic, they explained: 'If you take a knock during a match, you could have a brain haemorrhage and die. Either you stop or you have surgery.' They would have to open my head, which is a very dangerous operation. I didn't want to do it."
Realising that he wanted to continue playing, Castan agreed to have the operation. "A Roma match on TV. Watching it, something clicked inside me. I didn't want to stop playing football. The doctor suggested we meet after the Christmas holidays; I couldn't wait that long. A week later, I was in surgery.
"My only concern was staying alive so as not to leave my wife and children alone. The day before surgery, I went to Trigoria (Roma's training ground) to train. Everyone called me mad, but I needed it."
While the surgery was a success, Castan was stunned by just how much he had to relearn every day basics. "As soon as I woke up, I burst into tears with my wife. I wasn't dead," he said.
"The following months were tough. I had to learn how to live again. My life had changed, even daily things. At first it was hard just picking up a glass from a table. Or if I looked at my feet, they wouldn't move. But the real problem wasn't daily life, it was football."
Castan now looks back on the nightmarish saga with profound gratitude. "All I can say is thank you to Italy and Roma. They welcomed me and stood by me at my most difficult moment.
"What the fans, Sabatini (Roma director), team-mates did for me is incredible: they gave me the best care, paid my wages and renewed my contract even without playing. And messages came from all over Italy: [Franco] Baresi, [Max] Allegri, [Alessandro] Del Piero, [Leonardo] Bonucci… they made their support felt and gave me strength. And many team-mates stood by me too: Emerson Palmieri, De Rossi, Maicon, Alisson, Radja [Nainggolan], Benatia, just to name a few."
Castan has since returned to Brazil where he is now a coach, happy to be alive and emerged in the game he loves once more. "I like being on the field, smelling the grass, getting in touch with the guys," he said. "My time is not over yet. There is another life in football for Leandro Castan."
