“Let’s put a smile on that face,” is one of the all-time classic movie quotes vocalised by Batman’s nemesis, the Joker, when explaining how he ended up with the infamous scars.
There’s no need to say that line to Rafael Leão, who even during some of his worst performances still beams with a massive smile on the pitch, something reminiscent of former Milan talent Ronaldinho.
Because of this, some argue that Leão doesn’t seem to care enough or isn’t fully committed when the going gets tough. To a certain extent, that’s true. When is the last time he has carried the Rossoneri on his shoulders in times of difficulty?
Two years is an eternity in football terms. With that, it’s easy to forget that a then 23-year-old Leão was seen bursting into tears after claiming the Scudetto against Sassuolo on the final day of the season, collecting a deserved MVP award for the 2021-22 campaign to add the cherry on top.
It means something to him. He wants to win. He means well. But will his breathtaking talent ever align with his capability and expectations?
There is no harm in showcasing positive body language and bubbly personality. That’s just how he was born. However, instead of putting a smile on his face, perhaps that smile should not be turned upside down, but enough to display a bit of a growl at times.
Another chance slipped through Leão’s fingertips to prove himself in a monumental match, this time in the 2-1 derby victory against Inter. The Portuguese starlet was sluggish and uninspiring, wasting a couple of glorious goalscoring opportunities including a header only seconds after the restart.
When it isn’t Leão’s day, it’s frighteningly obvious. Signs such as a lack of tracking back when defending, opting to pass the ball back to the defence on multiple occasions instead of beating his man and attempting ridiculous shots from outside the box were all evident in the recent derby.
The moment Paulo Fonseca arrived to take over the reins from Stefano Pioli meant it didn’t take long for the Portuguese links to become a narrative in preseason, with the hope of connecting with Leão on a personal level to squeeze the best out of his potential. Still, it’s early days.
During Milan’s derby heroics with their backs firmly against the wall coming into the contest, it can be argued that every player pulled their weight aside from Leão and Emerson Royal. Actually, that’s a plus.
The likes of Christian Pulisic are breaking the trend of not showing up in the big games, cementing himself as Milan’s most reliable outlet in the final third. No longer does the American have to scream at the top of his lungs to receive the ball: his team-mates trust him.
Despite Milan’s leaky defence, the club ranks first for most goals scored (11) in Serie A after the first five rounds, scored by nine different players. Gone are the days of Fonseca’s men being heavily reliant on Leão’s productivity which was always the big question if the 25-year-old went hiding. The play can be diversified on both wings instead of the predictable usage of the left-hand side.
Nonetheless, Leão’s frustrating inconsistency is halting the 19-time Italian champions from elevating to the next level. Imagine if he were consistent: could Milan become genuine Scudetto contenders if solutions are identified in the backline?
It’s one thing to silence the Curva Sud after scoring against Paris Saint-Germain last season or responding with a goal against Lazio nearly four weeks ago when he came off the bench. Kudos for showing a reaction if anything, but it shouldn’t have to take something negative such as receiving criticism or being dropped to perform at his best.
The highlight of the week should be Milan’s gutsy victory over their city rivals and saving Fonseca’s job, but this discussion around Leão is a sensitive yet important conversation to have.
Leão can achieve incredible feats; we’ve seen it with our own eyes. Watching him glide with the ball so effortlessly is a sight to behold – an element slowly dying in world football.
The new revamped 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 formation (whichever way you wish to interpret it) is beneficial for the former Sporting Lisbon product. There can be no excuses on that front.
Leão’s shoulders are well-rested, so it’s finally time for him to carry some responsibility as a leader who has represented the club 169 times and lift his side back to the summit.
The next few months could decide his future. Not just concerning Milan, but also the top clubs who might also be left unconvinced.
Leao’s problem is a (500) Days of Summer-style “Expectations vs Reality.” It’s the fact that we expect him to be one of the greats like Ronaldinho but in reality he doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to it.
Upgrade Chaka Traore from primavera and let them enjoy
Yeah, sure. The youngsters are not even doing well in Serie C. So far in all games, with Milan Futuro they have scored only one goal in Serie C, and it was a PK. No goals from open play or free kicks. So, if they can’t even compete very well in Serie C, let alone in Serie A.
Leave the youngsters alone, will ya? Let them get some muscle mass and some more game time and fine tuning. They are not ready for Serie A yet, and that’s normal. They are 16, 17, 18, 19 years old. They can’t compete yet with grown men, and Milan Futuro’s struggles in Serie C attest to that.
Leão is irregular and he doesn’t defend well or track back well. Still, he REGULARLY produces either the first, or at worst the second total of goals + assists in a season and has done that every season over the last 3 seasons, so I forgive him for his shortcomings, unlike some rabid haters here. All these people who want Leão to be sold don’t know what they are saying. Who are we then buying that would provide about 30 goals + assists per season??? Last season Leão was only second to Lautaro Martinez in all of Serie A, and by just 2 goal participations fewer than Lautaro. If you all can provide someone else who will do that while replacing Rafa, and someone we can afford to sign, then by all means, sell him. But if we sell him without a suitable replacement, we will miss about 30 goal participations per season. Is that what you want? Not me.
The hatred against Leão is crazy. So far he had this start of season, while not doing so well, still 3 goal participations. Lautaro had only 1 (1 assist to Dimarco in the Derbi). Somehow I don’t see Inter fans screaming at Lautaro and saying he should be sold.
Yes, Pulisic is doing better than Leão this season, so far (more goals + assists but also one additional game and more minutes because one of the games, Leão only played 20 minutes). Also, one of Puli’s goals was almost entirely constructed by Rafa who then assisted Puli. However, last season Leão had 1 goal participation more than Puli, and I won’t be surprised if Rafa catches up and passes Puli again.
To bash and insult a player who produces 30 goal participations per season is utterly insane, regardless of his body language, perceived laziness, etc.
Leão has scored the winner in many Milan games over the years. He is very helpful to the team.
My issue with Rafa is that yes he has good G/A and creates, him playing LW and not wanting to play centrally creates tactical issues. A lot of goals scored this season have come from opponent right backs or right midfielders sending a long diagonal to their left wing which could be negated if he put pressure on the correct player. Also you saying that getting a player that produces the same as him would be difficult but Pulisic was 20mill and has more G/A than Rafa in serie a since he joined while also helps build up and helps defend
No doubt that Puli is currently Milan’s best player and a more complete player than Rafael Leão. No doubt that he was a bargain. I love Puli and I am thrilled that we were able to sign him by such a bargain. By the way, my Milan jersey has Puli’s name and number, not Rafa’s.
But such bargains are not so easy to get. We really lucked out with Puli. That was the exception rather than the rule, for a player of his level.
So, tell me, who exactly do you think we should get – but please, one we can afford, not some fantasy in the clouds – that would provide to Milan, from the left wing, the 30 goals and assists that Leão produces per season, every season???
And not only one we can afford, but also, one who wouldn’t be snatched by some other team far richer than we are.
No, selling Rafa would be a disaster because we wouldn’t be able to replace him with a similar level of quality, unless we got REALLY lucky again like we did when we got Puli (unlikely).
And that speech that we suffer goals on our RIGHT side of the defense because Rafa doesn’t track back on the LEFT side is utterly ridiculous. You are believing in the bull excrement that you are reading from some rabid Leão haters here. Even though it is desirable for a forward to be also good at defending and tracking back, not all are. Not all forwards are complete like Puli. Still, it is MORE a responsibility of midfielders and defenders to provide for good defense, than it is for forwards.
A forward’s PRIMARY mission is to score and assist, and Rafa does that, and does it very often, and he consistently places first or second with Milan for that, and second or third in the entire Serie A for that.
Do I wish he could defend and track back too? You bet. But hey, if he did, probably he would have been snatched from us by the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern, or some Arab club, so let’s count our blessings and appreciate Rafa for his 30 goals + assists he provides to Milan every season.
See, Alexis is better than Leão at tracking back and defending. But he is much worse than Leão as a winger. Who would you rather have, if you could have only one of them? Alexis or Rafa? For me, it would be Rafa. There is a reason why we still have Rafa and he has a release clause of 175M, and we no longer have Alexis. That’s because Rafa is more helpful to Milan than Alexis was, even though Rafa can’t defend or track back to save his life, if his life depended on it.
Players have strengths and weaknesses. Rafa is weak at defending but is great at scoring and assisting. Good enough for me.
We could always switch formations, and not play with LF. I love Leao, and he is still currently our best attacker imo, but he’s not irreplaceable. And the criticism about his defensive contribution is very much justified, although people do seem to forget that his burst playing style requires frequent rests.
Milan should sell Leao. Lazy and lack of effort. He doesn’t work hard for the team and he is not needed.
We already have his replacement in Pulisic. Then Milan can sign Berardi from Sassuolo. Problem solved.
He is not needed? Subtract his 30 G+A per season, and look again at how many points we’d have at season end, and where we’d be on the table. Do o you want us to miss the Champions League? Without Rafa’s 30 G+A we’d have missed it.
Pulisic is way better at RW than LW. And no, we shouldn’t have either Rafa or Puli. It’s best to have BOTH Rafa and Puli, each one of them providing about 30 G+A per season.
Here come the hypotheticals. If Chuk were as good as Puli, you’d have a point; we’d get Puli as LW and Chuk as RW. Unfortunately Chuk has mostly been dismal. Then, your scheme depends on us getting Berardi, who just had an extremely serious injury.
Look, Chiesa never recovered from his serious injury and is a shadow of his former self. Hell, Bennacer never recovered either, and is injured again. Who knows if, one, Berardi will ever be good again, and two, if in case he fully recovers, we’ll be able to buy him? The mercato is not just us looking at the available players and magically getting them. Our rivals in Italy and elsewhere are also looking and are also buying, and often offer more money than we do.
That’s why I said, not some fantasy; actually someone we can afford, and someone who won’t be snatched by our rivals.
Sure, we wanted Zirkzee… Taremi… Thuram… and so on and so forth, but we didn’t get them; rivals domestic and foreign got them.
You want to exchange a certainty like Rafa’s CONSISTENT 30 goals + assists per season, with some project in the clouds, and you quote a player who is currently seriously injured and inactive. Great.
Who has ever thought that Leao smiling during games means that he doesn’t care?
Most Milan and football fans think he doesn’t care because he is lazy on the pitch during games and training sessions. Nothing to do with smiling.
Well said! His numbers are excellent. Over the course of a season, he wins the team many points. I’d expect a good performance against Lecce.
We expect more of Leao because we know he is capable of more. We’ve seen it.
Since the start of last season Leao, Puli and Lautaro have identical number. While Lautaro and Puli are praised, Leao is bashed having the same production.
That’s is because we expect more of him. Is it fair? Remains to be seen. Maybe Leao is comfortable with where he’s at. Maybe he’s not being challenged to get out of his comfort zone more. Maybe Okafor needs to alternate to play more to give Leao incentives to elevate his game.
Since the Scudetto season I feel like he hasn’t elevated his game and defenses are starting to figure him out. Run down, cut in and shoot.
What separates him from the likes of Vini or CR7? I think it’s because the latter two adjust their game to always stay ahead of the players trying to defend them.
Leao won’t always be as fast as he is now but it seems that’s all his banking I’m his game on so far. He still commands double/triple teams so far so that helps our other players. 9 different goal scorers speaks for itself. Even when he is quiet his presence opens space for others.
But at some point Leao has to evolve his game. Unfortunately it won’t happen until Leao himself is ready to take the next step.
Can Ibra and Fonseca challenge him to do that? Remains to be seen.
That’s the thing – since the scudetto season… we were all expecting him to hit the next level after that and while his stats have been good – man he’s frustrating to watch sometimes. 😵💫
“Since the start of last season Leao, Puli and Lautaro have identical number. While Lautaro and Puli are praised, Leao is bashed having the same production.”
The difference between Leao and the other 2 is that they give you that production along with great work rate. Tracking back, pressing, defending, being involved in the process of recovering the ball so the team can go on the attack. That’s why Leao is getting bashed while the other 2 are getting praised.
Can Ibra and Fonseca challenge him? You mentioned Vini and Cristiano. Do you think they need someone to challenge them? Cristiano is a billionaire who has won everything in football and yet he is the hardest working player at 40. Crying from anger for losing a final in Saudi. Leao doesn’t have that mentality and never will.
Everything that you said is true. Still, even with all these shortcomings and all the poor attitude, lack of interest in some games, inability to track back and defend, Leão still produces as much as Puli and Lautaro.
I couldn’t care less for things like body language or even temper tantrums like Z was faulting Leão for having after being subbed out (by the way, CR7 had plenty of those). Like I said in other posts, this is not a fashion show where body language is the most important part, and is not a mental health outpatient clinic where personality is the most important part. It’s football. What wins games is not body language or personality. It’s actually goals and assists.
See, the scoreboard doesn’t say:
Milan 2 for body language, personality, and work rate. Opponent 1 for body language, personality, and work rate.
The scoreboard says: Milan 2 goals, versus opponent 1 goal.
While I would love to see Leão having all the characteristics you seem to value more, I still value even more the goals and assists that actually decide the games. I’m just crazy this way. I believe in the silly idea that if we score more goals than our opponents, we win the games, even if one of our players scowls rather than smiles. Such an idiot I am, right?
I love Pulisic, but I don’t accept this “have identical number” argument. The most important (and hardest) thing is to score goals, and Lautoro’s contribution to Inter was bigger than Puli’s was to Milan. And it’s not only the numbers, it when they are achieved, and several other things like the amount of resources spent by the other team to defend him.
But I agree. We expect Leao to do more than Pulisic. He’s objectively more talented. But Pulisic has the character (and balls), and his last two goals should maybe make us reconsider. Maybe when we’re stuck he’s the guy to get us a goal out of nothing. Leao should be the bate.
Let’s be thankful for BOTH Puli and Rafa. I am. For me, it’s not important if Puli is better than Rafa or Rafa is better than Puli. I mention these things just to make a point, but I couldn’t care less if by season end Puli has 31 G+A an Rafa “only” 30, or if Rafa has 31 and Puli has 30. They are players with different characteristics and both are very helpful to Milan.
Even if goals gets more credit they shouldn’t be deemed better than assists as the outcome is the same and an assist certainly can be be more difficult than scoring the goal.
That is actually a good post with good points. You make sense and you see BOTH the bad AND the good, unlike the rabid Leão haters who only see the bad, and even when Leão does well and scores spectacular goals or produces spectacular assists, they still scream that he is LAAAAAAAZY and only got lucky. NOTHING that Leão does, even when he has phenomenal games, satisfies these people. They always find excuses to bash him.
So, no, I don’t think it is only because we expect a lot from him.
Look, I love Puli, but he does have his quiet games too. All players do, even CR7, even Vini (the ones you quoted); hell, even Messi, Pelé, and Maradona. NOBODY can have a phenomenal game EVERY game, not even the greatest players of all time. But tell me, when Puli has a bad game and doesn’t do anything right, do you also see this forum going berserk and calling him LAAAAAAAZY and advocating for Milan to immediately sell him? No, it’s not just the expectation. There is something darker involved in the Leão hatred. I am 100% convinced of it.
By the way, I do NOT in any way, shape, or form, list you, ACM1899, as one of the haters. You are a fine poster and I respect your opinions a lot. I think you are one of the top 3 posters here, in terms of understanding of the game and of the issues. So, when YOU criticize Leão, I listen.
But people like Z??? He seems to spend 80% of his online life here bashing Rafael Leão. It’s excessive and unfair to Rafa.
Now, will Rafa actually upgrade to the next level? Maybe not. Maybe he will have a couple of additional decent seasons, then will decline, and will dedicate his life to fashion and music. If that’s what he wants, he has earned that right. But hey, have you ever thought that if he did upgrade, we’d likely lose him for good and much sooner? We are not among the richest teams in the planet, and if Leão other than scoring and assisting about 30 times per season were also hungrier, participated more, defended and tracked back more, then he probably would have been gone already to greener pastures.
Oh absolutely. I’ve always said that a World Class Leao would not stay at Milan. Unfortunately THIS is the only version of Leao we can afford to keep.
You more or less summarized Leao’s case. He reached a peak in 2022 and stayed there. A player as young as him with all those physical attributes and talent should normally be able to progress even further, but for Leao it was either stagnation or regression. I don’t know what he has in his mind, but he might be happy with the level he reached and doesn’t see the need to improve.
There was a trend starting from last season where he’d be absent from many games, scores a few goals, gets few assists in some others, manages to “shush” the critics.
The problem though is that a player is more than just goals and assists. I would have been fine with a scoreless and assistless Leao in the derby if he tracked back, defended a bit and was more active offensively as well, but he seemed desinterested. Pulisic doesn’t always score or assist, but you can see him helping the defense and midfield.
So far, he enjoyed the luxury of doing what he does thank to/because of the lack of quality in Milan’s offense and a coach like Pioli who was fine with his general attitude. But now with Pulisic, Abraham and Morata who are good players and Fonseca who seemed to have decided that he will not allow some types of behaviour, things might be heading for a change.
Theo, who is also a superstar and among the top5 or top3 best LBs in the world depending on whom you ask, was also under fire earlier this season, yet, albeit not in a flashy way, he seemed to have regained his composure and demonstrated he can play for the team. Let’s hope Leao does the same.
@Luigi I fully agree with you the hate is unaccetable he has been our best player since 2021-22
Thanks, Federico. I’m glad to see that some people here still acknowledge how important Rafa is for us.
Rafa is so lazy that when he is subbed he goes off on his side of the pitch instead going to switch with his teammate like a normal player.