Costacurta: “Leao, doing well for 18 seconds is not enough”

Former AC Milan legendary defender Alessandro Costacurta spoke on Sky Sport about Milan forward Rafael Leao.

The Portuguese player is expected to step up his game after a season start where he's shown both good moments and periods of inconsistency.

Here's his assessment:

"We always hope he makes that leap in quality to show his abilities. Eighteen seconds is not enough. He needs to do it for several minutes. Let’s remember he's a '99-born player, just coming out of his football adolescence. What would I tell him? He needs examples, which can come from players who don’t even play with him."

Speaking of examples, according to Costacurta, AC Milan brought in some players for this reason, like Alvaro Morata who could leave a positive influence on Rafael Leao:

"For example, Messi and Ronaldo pushed each other. He speaks highly of Vinicius and Mbappé but hasn't yet absorbed the consistency of those players. That's why I think Morata's presence has become crucial. Milan needed leadership, which only a few players had. Pavlovic has it too, even though he’s not playing right now. The hope is for someone to lead by example, to go the extra mile, and improve behaviour", as relayed via Milan News.