There will be no substantial developments concerning Rafael Leao’s renewal until the end of the season, according to Carlo Pellegatti.
Leao has been struggling on the field as he is without a goal for two months and his performances have left a lot to be desired. In the meantime, headlines continue to swirl regarding his future given his contract expires in June 2024 which gives him less than 18 months remaining on his deal.
Pellegatti spoke during an interview with MilanNews and he gave his understanding of the situation related to Leao’s renewal, beginning by stating that ‘until June nothing will happen’ because the ‘situation is very complicated’.
“I hope that Milan will understand now if Leao will stay or not in order to move and be ready. You take risks when you keep a player, and you always hope that he can improve,” he said.
“It was a somewhat difficult year and therefore the price tag has physiologically dropped. I don’t know which league is best for his way of playing, the important thing is that you don’t lose him on a free.”
There continues to be debate about which position is best for Leao as he has been used as a left winger, centre-forward and a second striker since his arrival at the club, currently operating as a left-sided attacking midfielder in a 3-4-2-1.
“He also started from the left against Salernitana, but not much has changed. If he were a player with a lot of stimuli and application, perhaps the idea of changing position could give him a higher quality of performance.
“By now it’s fashionable to talk about the Georgian from Napoli, but he scores goals in a fairly central position. For us Leao is the top player, even if he is now overtaken by Theo, but we must not take the players to the analyst.
“The players play, we have had a thousand champions, we compare him to Shevchenko, Inzaghi to the greats of the past, Pierino Prati was starting from left wing, then at a certain point he went in between and Chiarugi played on the left. He played, won and scored.”
Leao is not important anymore
And that’s good news for Milan
Never compare leao with Sheva.
Sheva was a great player who could play equally well in every forward position.
Starting from left wing under Zacceroni, 2nd striker under Therim and early Ancelotti to a center forward later under Carlo.
In his first 2 seasons in serie A Sheva scored 24 goals in each, playing LW in 343.
4 years in, has leao even scored 30 goals total in his Milan career?
Kvara impact on serie A from day one reminds a lot of Sheva’s. Im Talking about initial impact not that they are same quality.
“If he were a player with a lot of stimuli and application…”
We need a coach and a system to who will inject these in high doses, he seems to need it, that’s all.
I remember when C. Ronaldo was signed at Man Utd, he confessed that he was not even as good as his Sporting teammate, Fabio Paim.
But while Fabio Paim played under coaches and systems that allowed him do whatever, C. Ronaldo played under Alex Ferguson who criticised his frequent stopovers, excessive dribbling, and showboating, made him shed tears from criticism and earned Ferguson’s trust because he could see what the manager is doing. Today, no-one even remember Fabio Paim anymore but Ronaldo will always be remembered as one of the greatest ever.
A great coach can transform a good player into an extraordinary one.
Nothing will happen after June either.