“He’s missing a click in his head, a substitute”

Giorgio Chiellini he entered with a bang Rafa Leao. Not on the pitch – the former defender retired some time ago – but in words. The former Juventus player has in fact criticized the Portuguese offensive winger, especially for the figure monster – 170 million – that Milan would like to collect in the event of his transfer in the summer (this is how much the termination clause is set at). “An incoming“, this is how Chiellini defined him, who cannot sit at the same table as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius. A criticism also the result of a European Championship played well so far below expectations from the AC Milan striker.

Chiellini’s analysis starts first from the impossible coexistence with Cristiano Ronaldo: “Jota is much more functional to his game – said the defender to Sky Sport – because they can exchange positions. Leao instead it always goes that extra mile that sends him out of revs”. And then comes the frontal attack on Rafael Leao: “He lacks numbers and his potential is unexpressed at least for now.” According to the former Juve player, the Portuguese has an enormous technical and mental problem: “I don’t know if he will ever be able to click in the head“.

In Giorgio Chiellini’s thoughts, Leao is never a “starter” in this Portugal, but can only be a “substitute”. The reason? Giorgione himself explains it: “If you want to raise the bar and compare him to players of the level of Vincius and Mbappé then we are not there – added Chiellini -. He, to those who win trophies, it does not arrive. At most he can be part of a winning team. But these are two different things.”