Rafael Leao’s situation is certainly challenging, and an exit from AC Milan could be possible, way before anyone expected, though.
Unfortunately for Milan, the Leao who won Serie A MVP seems light years away, and whilst the shell is left, the exciting player who often single-handedly won the Rossoneri games has gone. Instead, the club are left with a player who impresses in spells.
However, the hope of a return to his former self has not gone, and with the winger recently ‘vowing’ to improve himself after a poor start to the season, perhaps, the true Leao could return. This requires a chance, though, and at present, Paulo Fonseca prefers to look elsewhere than the winger.
For this reason, Tuttosport (via Milan News) reports that the Portuguese has given his entourage a mandate to ‘find a possible solution’ for the January mercato. The spark between him and Fonseca has not been lit, and there are no signs of that changing at present.
Barcelona are continuing to watch his situation with keen interest, and whilst a ‘rift’ is not past the point of no return, it could ‘erupt’ soon. Leao would stay at Milan if things changed with Fonseca, but his request to search for alternatives is telling of his hope for this.
FONSECA es como el covid 19… ACABA CON TODO!!!!! 👍🏻🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🇵🇹🇺🇲‼️🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
Fonda out!! Pay a real coach who has a record of winning
Since Milan lost the Napoli game, Fonseca will pretty much have to start him in tomorrow’s game. Like some others have wished for here, I’d like to see Puli as CAM, Chuck as RW and Leao on the left. RLC and Morata together are too untalented and slow.
NO NOOOOOOO this CANNOT happen. Leao is our main attacking threat when it comes to creating chances…. Fonseca get out my club. People already writingleao off because of his start of the season. this managment needs to go
How is it possible to be so wrong about a coach… Most fans (who are not Redbird fanboys) said even before his arrival that he would fail but somehow professional executives thought that it was a good idea. Milan has managers who are less competent than football fans. And a coach who is beyond the worst expectations, alienating the top players of the team while having terrible results. It’s beyond the nightmares I started to have when this ownership arrived in town taking selfies with fans to show how cool and close to the fans he is. My guess is that Jerry was robbing the fans’ wallet in their pocket while taking the selfies.
Tuttosport writes for people with half a brain like you
they thank you for reading their rage-bait slop and actually falling for it
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
short-sided take, even if the rumors are fake AF.
Leao used to exciting to watch with the milan shirt ,but since fonseca came the smile has gone from his face. I think since the water incident fonseca has passed the message, leao should start playing before we lose him on the cheap.
Instead of improving his own attitude and work rate, he chooses the easy way out. Anyone surprised? No one? Didn’t think so.
These story lines are so predictable…. first sign of discord – “SENSATIONAL! LEAO LEAVING TO BARCA!” or whatever….
Barca can’t afford him. Hansi won’t want a non-system player.
Next …
ACM1899, you are one of the few here who understand who Rafa is as a player… but you may be underestimating how troubled and unhappy he is.
Yes, Rafa WILL leave AC Milan. This is not just a rumor. And it’s not the “first sign of discord.” Rafa has been heavily scapegoated for weeks or months. He is visibly extremely frustrated. That’s how players ask to leave, and yes, it will happen.
Barca won’t afford him… but there will be other takers. Any decent scout will know that Fonseca is ruining Rafa and Rafa is capable of much more effective offensive production than the clown known as Paulo Fonseca is getting out of him, with his silly attempt to fit a square peg in a round role.
As you know, Rafa is NOT a system player who defends in block with the team. The more Fonseca asks this of him, the less effective Rafa is, offensively.
Rafa also knows it… and knows that he will recover his game once he leaves AC Milan and goes to a team whose coach understands him.
Rafa’s father came from Portugal to meet with his son and comfort him. His family knows how unhappy he is. His entourage knows it too. Rafa will leave. Mark my words.
————-
Maybe if Fonseca is fired very soon, Rafa will stay. But I don’t think our management will fire Fonseca.
It’s one or the other, Fonseca or Rafa. One of them will go. Rafa won’t want to play for a team coached by Fonseca.
Hiring Fonseca was the end of Rafa’s AC Milan tenure.
No serious team will build a team around a single player. Look at the to clubs. Super players play in a system even if they are allowed to improvise.
Leao will not find it easier in any club better than Milan. This is why he IS in Milan. Because this is the version of him which we can afford, and Pioli understood that and built around his deficiencies.
The only club he can go to that will allow him to be himself is a club either at the level of Milan or weaker, that would be desperate for his skill set. Do you think he goes to Barcelona or Manchester city or any other top club and is allowed to free roam, not contribute to defense and just walk back when he loses possession?
I will continue to maintain, the Portuguese is what he is. Mitigate around his weaknesses and bank on his strengths. Otherwise cut him loose. You will never transform him. That’s how he became the MVP of the league when we won the Scudetto.
bb, no one? Oh, the people here who are saying something else are no one? As usual, you live in a space of no contact with reality. Speak for yourself and for other haters. There are people who actually do understand the importance of Rafael Leão to this team.
———–
I knew that this would happen (Rafa asking to leave). I said it in all letters. So for the sake of the mediocre loser we have as a coach who picks silly fights against his own players and doesn’t know how to best use them, we are losing one of our best players.
Oh, he hasn’t been scoring? Well, duh! He is indeed immature and 0ver-sensitive and he tends to allow the criticism to get to his head; he plays worse when he is harassed unfairly like he’s been for the last several weeks.
Of course we get the hateful comments here as usual. Once he is gone, these people will see him shine elsewhere (under a proper coach who understands his characteristics and doesn’t try to transform him into a player he is not) and will realize that Milan will be worse off without him. Mark my words. Of course the haters won’t confess to it, but in a few months, they will regret it.
People are complaining of the managers for letting Simic, Daniel Maldini and Kalulu go. These were much less important players for Milan than Rafael Leão. It is GUARANTEED that people will soon enough complain that Milan let him go. Just wait and see.
The same happened with Kessié. People called him mercenary, bashed him, said good riddance… then a few months later they realized how much worse the defense was without him: a midfielder who actually was able to play DM at the highest level, shielding the defense. We never had the same number of clean sheets once he was gone, and he was never properly replaced (still hasn’t been) so the haters who offended him soon realized that we were worse off without him.
It is GUARANTEED that the total of goals Milan will have scored by season end will be smaller without Rafael Leão.
It’s not that I like him as a person, that snake Calhanoglu, and it’s not like I don’t think that Donnarumma was much less than loyal to the club that taught him all that he knows. But again, these two players are shining elsewhere and have just been named again among the world-class players who got nominations for the Ballon d’Or. So, yes, the fanbase bashes them… but Milan did become worse off without them. Rafa on the other hand is actually a nice guy, a previously happy kid with a big smile who used to love to play for Milan… and not in any way deserving of the same level of hatred inspired by Calhanoglu and Donnarumma… but he is scapegoated just the same.
The same that happened to Kessié will happen to Rafa. The haters say that Rafa is lazy and doesn’t defend (they don’t understand that these are just his characteristics as a player), and say without ANY evidence that he neglects his training due to music and fashion (nobody who actually works for the club has ever suggested in the slightest way that Rafa has missed any training session to dedicate himself to music or fashion – obviously he does it in his free time – so what, he is a young man who likes fashion and music – many others do, too).
Let’s see if our cheap managers will ever replace properly a left winger able to add 28 to 30 goals + assists to our seasonal tally (which Rafa did all three of the three last seasons). They will not. We’ll get some Joe Nobody. Or we will have Okafor starting, and he will be a disaster as a starter, as usual (a good super-sub but a lousy starter). See, like I had anticipated, Okafor got ratings of 4 to 5 last game from professional journalists when he started against Napoli, out of Fonseca’s silly war against Rafa. Okafor is VERY far from being the dangerous forward that Leão is.
The haters will say “Leão isn’t scoring and he had months without a score last season.” They conveniently won’t mention that despite having many fewer minutes under Fonseca, Rafa has assisted four times in addition to the goal he scored; five goal participations so far this season, only second to Pulisic, despite sitting on the bench for long periods. Last season when he went a few months without scoring, he assisted numerous times in that period, and by season end he still achieved 30 goals + assists (18 goals, 12 assists – go to footystats dot org to confirm it, if you doubt it).
Good luck finding another winger who adds 30 goals + assists per season, and costs under the cap of 25M our cheap managers have implemented.
Haters: you will regret this. You can offend ME as much as you want, call me a ridiculous fanboy, whatever. But you WILL regret this. Mark my words. Later, don’t complain when I tell you “I told you so.”
LOL. Figures it’s the Leao-lover jumping to save the damsel in distress! So, remind us again, how many times have you promised not to write long and exhausting love letters defending your idol again? 😀 😀 😀
“As usual, you live in a space of no contact with reality. Speak for yourself and for other haters. There are people who actually do understand the importance of Rafael Leão to this team.”
I said no one is surprised he wants to go. You said it yourself you “predicted” it. So, why the attack? Because I said the truth and it hurt your feelings? You btch and whine about my comment yet you admit agreeing with me. Ain’t that funny. And no, I didn’t waste my time reading more than the 3-4 first rows.
Hater? Nope, still not one.
Nah, we know that you have read more than the first 3-4 lines, since you commented on stuff I said later than that.
I’m commenting on the ARTICLE, not on you, so you took it as a personal attack (I even separated the two parts of my post with a dotted line). What I said to you was the first paragraph, reacting to what you said that no one sees the downside of letting Leao go, when objectively, several people here said so.
Now, let this sink in: Rafa did no play or started from the bench 22 times since he was hired by Milan. Milan only won 8 of those games. Got it?
How does that have anything to do with what I wrote? I wrote about his attitude – not his significance to the team.
“you said that no one sees the downside of letting Leao go”
LOL. Where did I say that????
“Instead of improving his own attitude and work rate, he chooses the easy way out. Anyone surprised?”
So, where’s that claim? I still can’t see it. I’m trying real hard to see it but can’t. Please help me out here.
Theo and Leao went downhill once Maldini left and Tonali was sold. They knew right away that this ownership and management were unambitious, they will waste their prime years if they stay here. The management won’t give them the best chance of winning, you can forget about then giving there best to that organization. Maldini constantly challenged and pushed Moncada, Furliani, Gazidis etc. There is no push back or people asking for better. u end up with mediocre
Theo and Leao actually went downhill when Kessie and Tonali left. These two allowed Rafa to play without worrying about tracking back because they did all the donkey work.
If you want Leao and Theo to function as they did before, you need two workhorses in midfield, otherwise their time may be coming to an end..
What the hell is that coach still doing to Milan? Why isn’t he out already?? Kick him out already for God’s sake. Din’t let Leao leave because of him
Sell Leao and revert back to 442 or 4312. Best way forward. Leao isn’t suitable for Milan anymore
The white knight on full simp mode again .
Dude has a direct line to leao imao. Knows everything about the situation
Who would have guessed? Oh right, EVERYONE. 😀 😀 😀
And let’s see him attacking me again for hurting his/her feelings. 😀
bb and flyingturtle and K feed on each other, and they self-congratulate each other, while other people do understand the importance of Leão to Milan, as evidenced by Milan only winning 8 times out of the 22 times when Leão did not start. QED.
I’m not talking about his significance to the team. I’m talking about his attitude. But that doesn’t suit your narrative as you know I’m right and that infuriates you. So you choose to lie. Well done, Mr. White Knight. Well done. You’re like the Trump of this site. Always lying to suit your narrative. 😀
Fonseca is not Leao’s problem. Leao is Leao’s problem. Yes, we should find a new manager, but Leao will still be Leao. He does not have the right personality or mentality. He needs to be sold.