Sky journalist Peppe Di Stefano has spoken about why there is some frustration – both internally and externally – regarding Rafael Leao’s fluctuating performance levels.
Milan’s financial position dictates that they do not need to sell any players unlike rivals and yet – as happened last year with Sandro Tonali – if huge offers arrive the club is willing not only to listen to them, but potentially to accept them.
Leao has been mentioned as one of those who could depart after a season in which he racked up 15 goals and 14 assists across all competitions. However, he was up and down during the campaign and he has a €175m release clause that it seems difficult for any club to touch.
What seems most likely is that the former Lille star stays under the incoming head coach Paulo Fonseca and hopefully unlocks a level of consistency that has been missing to this point.
Di Stefano spoke on Tutti Convocati on Radio 24 and focused on the Portuguese talent, lifting the lid on some of the things that are a cause for concern, with his comments relayed by Radio Rossonera.
“Milan are Leao and Theo dependent, without them they become a normal team. This is why he sometimes foments anger among the fans, because you see him against Napoli in the Champions League last year and you ask yourself: ‘But why does he play those matches and then not the following week’.
“Sometimes I read the GPS values, he goes from 9-10-11km per match, to matches in which he does much less. This is a mentality discussion, it is not a tactical discussion.”
Has anyone compared the data between Leao’s fluctuations in form and his clothing line catwalks and album releases?
It has always been a mentality issue. Unfortunately, this can be one of the most difficult things to correct. The player either wants it, or doesn’t want it. True professionals give 100% regardless of the opponent, not only when it’s the CL semi-final, or against PSG or the derby. The next coach 100% deserves the chance to see if he can get Leao to the next level of consistency. He’s under contract until 2028, so financially, we’re under no pressure to sell until 2026. If he finally begins to be consistently good then we will enjoy him for at least two more seasons. If he’s up and down again next season, it may be time to move on in 2025.
Again with this mentality story. It seems that Leao does not score 20 goals a season because of lack of mentality and not because he cannot shoot properly. His shooting and long range passing is very poor. That’s it, it’s a technical problem. If he would have the finishing skills of Mbappe he would also score 20+ goals.
I would swap Leao for Kvara any second. Leao is better individually but he isn’t really a team player. His crosses aren’t the best neither his shooting. He is a great player but given his attitude also I prefer Kvara
Kvara is overhyped, I rate Puli ahead of him even honestly… He’s so slow
Stats say otherwise:
Overall Performance Comparison
Goals: Rafael Leão outperformed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in goal scoring, especially in the 2022-2023 season, and maintained a better per 90 minutes rate across both seasons.
Assists: Leão also showed better consistency and improvement in providing assists. His assist rate per 90 minutes improved in the second season, while Kvaratskhelia’s assist rate decreased.
Goals + Assists (G+A): Leão consistently contributed more to his team in terms of combined goals and assists per 90 minutes. He maintained a higher overall contribution than Kvaratskhelia.
Expected Goals and Assists: While Kvaratskhelia had a higher xG in the 2023-2024 season, Leão’s xAG improvement highlights his increased role in creating scoring opportunities. Leão’s combined xG + xAG per 90 minutes is higher across both seasons.
Minutes Played: Both players had substantial playing time, with Kvaratskhelia having slightly more minutes in the second season. This indicates a consistent level of trust from their respective coaches and a similar fitness level.
Conclusion
Based on the analysis of goals, assists, expected contributions, and minutes played over two seasons, Rafael Leão appears to have a slight edge over Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Leão has been more consistent in scoring and assisting, and his expected statistics also suggest a higher contribution in both areas. Kvaratskhelia has shown good performance, but the decline in his assist rate and overall G+A contribution in the second season indicates that Leão has been the more effective player overall.
Just to play devils advocate on your comment
Play a proper system and he will score 20.😉
MOST TEAMS PLAYING AGAINST MILAN CONCENTRATE ALL THEIR TACTICS ON LEO AND THAT HAS NOT HELPED THE PRESUME PUT ON HIM.
IT IS NOT PROPER OR FAIR TO PUT ALL THE BLAME ON HIM, PROBABLY WITH THIS CURRENT MARKET AN EXTRA QUALITY WILL BE BROUGHT IN TO TAKE THE PRESSURE OF HIM.
IF THE MANAGEMENT CAN THINK FOR THEMSELVES.
Fact I agree with u on this
I can’t even start to comprehend why a player with freaking 29 goal participations in a season is so heavily criticized and people (journalists, fans) talk about him as if his season was a failure.
Calm down, folks. Nobody can be perfect every game. Not even Leonel Messi. And Leão is often double or even triple marked so in some games he doesn’t do much (this does open space for his companions).
Also, Leão depends on Theo. When Theo is not playing or plays poorly, Leão’s performance drops.
So, yes, he is irregular, which is in great part caused by the two factors above (double/triple marking, Theo) but then, he is the kind of player who may do nothing for 85 minutes and then produce a burst of energy and a brilliant score, winning the game for us.
People who bash Leão should understand that Milan’s offence plays a lot worse when Leão is not there. Like I said, even when he is not producing, he attracts double or triple marking, leaving open spaces for the other forwards.
This is crazy. 29 goal contributions this season and people still complain.
“People who bash Leão should understand that Milan’s offence plays a lot worse when Leão is not there.”
People who says Milan’s offence plays a lot worse when Leao is not there hasn’t really watched all the matches as there has been matches where Milan has played really well. The team is more balanced, defends better and isn’t a “one trick pony” when it comes to attacking plays.
But sure, it fits the narrative better to say that Milan is crap without him. 🙂
“People who says Milan’s offence plays a lot worse when Leao is not there hasn’t really watched all the matches as there has been matches where Milan has played really well. The team is more balanced, defends better and isn’t a “one trick pony” when it comes to attacking plays.”
Care to give examples of those matches ?
Last season we barely even draw when Leao doesn’t start, and this season he was only absent against sitting ducks, Fiorentina and a game we lost to Atalanta.
I don’t keep a diary, so…
Exactly because of what was said in the article, he can be inconsistent and some times straight up lazy, people react because they know he can do better. Thats the frustrating part, knowing how good he is and then some games he is less interested than my grandads pepe