In the sights of Paris Saint-Germain last season, Rafael Leão ultimately had a fairly calm summer. The French club instead tried its luck with the Neapolitan Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the Portuguese was thus able to concentrate on the start of his sixth season with the Lombard club. In view during the last exercise where he scored 15 goals and delivered 14 offerings in 47 matches, the native of Almada wanted to do even better in order to be able to help the Diavolo to play for the title. Unfortunately for him, he experienced a delay in starting like his team and his individual situation is slowly becoming complicated.
Rafael Leão at the heart of criticism
Author of one goal for four assists, Rafael Leão did not play the last Serie A match against Udinese, remaining on the bench and quickly had to leave the field against FC Brugge after an average performance in the League. Champions. A competition where it has not been decisive for the moment. A worrying start to the season for the man who is considered the star of the team and who is calling out. He notably received harsh criticism at the start of the month after the 1-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen.
“Leão has nothing to do with it, he deserves all the criticism. It is time to have more continuity and courage. In other years, I always defended it for the too much criticism it received despite the numbers and high-level performances. This year he must wake up. He must be present. Every once in a while he walks on his toes and looks like he’s screwed up, but that’s not the case. He’s a good kid, but it seems like everyone else is in and he’s out. Fonseca had the courage to put three and a half attackers: apart from Leão, the other three ran to compensate for the lack in midfield“, declared Zvonimir Boban, Croatian legend of the Rossoneri. And the findings on the Rafael Leão case continue to gain depth.
Things are tense with Paulo Fonseca, management intervenes
Better in the last two matches when Rafael Leao was not present or had a minor role, AC Milan provided high quality performances and this complicated the relationship between the Lombard club and the player. Moreover, his understudy Noah Okafor scores points with a great comeback against Bruges where he provided a decisive pass. Paulo Fonseca has also started to play him less and has been able to put an end to the statuses since his arrival. “I don’t care what players’ names are when there are problems», He declared when he was threatened at the start of the season. According to the Gazzetta dello Sportrelations between Paulo Fonseca and Rafael Leao are cordial, but the two men are not on the same wavelength.
If the former Lille coach does not want to abandon his compatriot given his market value and his role in the team, he is not going to let him get away with everything. In this situation, he was asked to perfect his finishing with specific training. Management is trying to calm things down, like CEO Giorgio Furlani, who recently spoke with the player’s entourage to find out if the latter was doing well. The leaders do not want to influence Paulo Fonseca’s choices and believe that Rafael Leao must do more. However, they asked Paulo Fonseca to try to keep the player in a positive state of mind so that he can become decisive again. It now remains to be seen whether the two men will be able to achieve their objectives together, with Paulo Fonseca also criticizing him for his lack of defensive investment.
