Costacurta sees Fonseca’s message to Milan but doubts that Leao is among top 100 players | OneFootball

Milan legend Alessandro Costacurta insists that Paulo Fonseca was ‘tired of some situations’ and doubts that Rafael Leao is among the top 100 players in terms of goals, assists, and leadership skills.

The Portuguese winger remained on the bench for the entire game against Udinese on Saturday, and Fonseca explained that the team was “more important” than the single players.

Milan and Italy legend Costacurta seemed to agree with the Portuguese tactician who is now preparing for a key Champions League game against Club Brugge on Tuesday.

“He wanted to communicate to the mass media and the outside that he was tired of enduring some situations,” Costacurta told Sky, as quoted by TMW.

Costacurta sees Fonseca’s message to Milan but doubts that Leao is among top 100 players

epa11576502 Milan’s Rafael Leao reactsafter scoring the goal during the Serie A soccer match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at the Olimpico stadium in Rome, Italy, 31 August 2024. EPA-EFE/RICCARDO ANTIMIANI

“The penalty thing was even more serious than what happened in Rome.”

Back in August, Leao and Theo Hernandez snubbed a cooling break in the second half, minutes after being introduced from the bench. Barely one month later, Milan leaders ignored the penalty kick hierarchy twice, missing two penalty kicks in a 2-1 defeat against Fiorentina.

“I think it’s something difficult to overcome,” added Costacurta with a reference to the penalty incident in Florence.

“Fonseca wanted to make his voice heard, first with words and then with the line-up. The response from the team was good. This is something players must understand, especially those who remained out. Who replaced Leao [Noah Okafor] played better than Leao.”

The Portuguese star has one goal and four assists in nine appearances this season.

“Why are we talking about Leao? Because we expect a lot,” continued Costacurta.

“Isn’t Motta doing the same thing with Douglas Luiz? We always talk about talent, but talent must be divided into five or six criteria. What’s Leao’s talent? He’s among the top ten players for physicality and pace. That’s fine. But how about shots on target and assists? Is he among the top 100? I don’t think so. Is he among the top 150 for leadership skills? I don’t think so. The message sent by Fofana is different. Is he talented? No, but he has extraordinary talent in leading the team by example, which is probably even more important than technical talent.”