During a new episode of "The Italian Football Podcast", former midfielder and AC Milan legend Marcel Desailly spoke about several topics related to the Rossoneri world, recalling the 1994 Champions League final and also discussing Rafael Leão, the most talked-about player at the moment. Below are some excerpts from his remarks.
On Leao:
"You can’t criticise him, because the day you do, he’ll produce magic on the pitch. And you’ll be left speechless, not knowing what to say anymore. In five seconds, he’ll sweep away all the negativity you’ve thrown at him. We know 100% that he lacks consistency. And he’s not a leader capable of carrying an entire season like Lionel Messi and Neymar did. He doesn’t have that consistency. He’s an important player for the team, but he can never be the key player for the whole season. He can be, from time to time, because he will be inconsistent. And it seems he has already reached the highest level he can achieve," as relayed via Milan News.
Desailly added:
"I can’t criticise him, because he earns a lot of money, plays for AC Milan and the Portuguese national team. But I think he believes he is already everything. He is not mentally ready to analyse where he could improve physically, because potentially he may not be able to give more from a physical standpoint. Perhaps he could work on adjusting his diet, his training, or anything else to achieve that consistency."
"He’s a bit of a problem in a system because he doesn’t track back. He pushes forward, but when the move is over, he stops. That means he doesn’t have the legs to get back into position. So there needs to be both a physical and mental approach that could ultimately take him to the level where he could win the Ballon d’Or. But does he really want it? Is his entourage smart enough to tell him: ‘Look, what you’ve done is fantastic, but to reach the next level you’ll have to make some changes’? Because for now, this is the maximum we can expect from Leao."
