In his book, the Portuguese spoke about renewing his contract with the Rossoneri:
"I wanted to stay to complete a journey as a player and as a man."
Today, February 28th, at the Mondadori store in Duomo, Milan, Rafael Leao will present his biography titled "Smile, My Life Between Football, Music, and Fashion."
Another excerpt from Leao's autobiography:
"Anyone would want to play for Milan. I wanted to stay to complete a period of growth that I had started and to show how much more I could give as a player and as a man. Winning the league showed me how beautiful it was to win as a team. My renewal was never a tug-of-war over money, as many have said, and I never had doubts about the technical direction the team was taking. It took some time, but at the signing, my thought was clear: it's not an economic pact, but a pact of love."
Leao added:
"The fine to be paid to Sporting? According to Italian law, I am finally free from my debt. I must also thank Milan, which in that difficult period was always very close to me. I must certainly thank Giorgio Furlani. He is a great person, we talk often; he always tries to speak to me in Portuguese. His presence and constant support help me win on and off the field, as well as grow as a person. I must say the same about Gerry Cardinale: every time he sees me, we talk, and you can see that he cares about me and wants me to stay at Milan."
On Paolo Maldini and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Leao said:
"Maldini and Ibra? Someone tried to identify him (Maldini) as my 'second father.' People have this obsession, trying to identify father figures for young players and attribute guru-like qualities to them. For me, he wasn't a second father, but without him, maybe I wouldn't be who I am, and I wouldn't have won a league title. He was unique, fundamental; he always told me that I was a beautiful player and that he and his father were aesthetes of football. Then he left. You can't wait to read something extremely spicy and interesting about the matter, right? Well, the truth is I don't know what happened; I know that from one day to the next, he left, and we were all taken aback. Surely we lost a pillar, but it was replaced by other great professionals like Furlani and Moncada, and now with the contribution of Zlatan too. The most important lesson Ibra taught me was to show me what it means to be a Milan player, setting the example firsthand and teaching in every training session or match. Now I know that every time I play, I have to seize that opportunity and leave the field with no regrets; showing my determination and the team's strength has become my goal. Whether you're a talented player or not, you have to give your best. That was and is the Ibra Mentality."
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