Rafael Leao was caught taking off his shin pads and leaving the pitch during Milan-Udinese, despite not actually being subbed off, before realising his mistake.
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Last night’s clash was a bad one for several Milan figures, such as Koni De Winter and Massimiliano Allegri. The one who has received the most criticism, however, is Rafael Leao after what was a poor display from start to finish.
The No.10 started the game as a centre-forward and unsurprisingly didn’t have much success there, before moving to left-wing for the second half. However, apart from one good pass for Niclas Fullkrug, it was a frustrating watch for the Milan fans.
As captured by DAZN, one moment in the second half was incredibly symbolic for his evening. It was in the 67th minute that Udinese decided to sub off their No.10, Nicolo Zaniolo, who had been absolutely brilliant up until that point.
Leao, seeing the No.10 on the substitution board, took off his shin pads and even walked off the pitch. However, he then realised his mistake and had to quickly get back in. While it might seem like nothing, not being more aware of your surroundings does say something about your mental state.
Questo fa capire palesemente quanto Leao fosse fuori con la testa dalla partita
(e anche quanto sapesse di aver fatto male, malissimo).. pic.twitter.com/Nm4Vq354im— Johnny Bevacqua (@Theocrazia19) April 11, 2026
It’s almost as if he had given up himself at that point, not even questioning the sub enough to double-check if it was actually Milan making the change.