Milan, Rabiot: “Maignan irreplaceable, Leao must grow”

“In my opinion we could have scored a few more points, we left some on the way.” It’s called a winning mentality. It’s that of Adrien Rabiot, who gave a long interview to Sky, talking about this first part of the season at Milan. “We make a mental mistake in approaching matches, maybe we relax a little too much even thinking that we have already done something great. In the end you can pay for this, so we have to try to find this solidity again and try to maintain the same level against all teams.”

leao

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The Frenchman then spoke about Rafa Leao: “It’s fair to say that he has potential: he’s strong, he’s shown it. But from what I saw when I arrived now, he’s already changed. In terms of his attitude on the pitch there’s already something different and it all starts from here: he has to maintain this aspect. He’s a player with a lot of quality and we know it well: he has to continue to grow. Then it’s up to him, on a mental level, to understand where he wants to go.”

maignan

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Magic Mike, the captain and the renewal with Milan. Here’s how Rabiot sees it: “He also spoke to me three, four years ago: he tried to get me to come to Milan. He’s a friend but above all he’s a strong, very strong player: there are few goalkeepers like that in the world of football. Then I won’t go into anything surrounding this, but as a Milan player I obviously hope he stays because he’s difficult to replace. There are things we say to each other, obviously, but there isn’t a player who doesn’t want to keep him in the team, he has the trust and esteem of all his teammates: he is loved by everyone because he is a real person. We need him, we have seen at the start of the championship what he can do, how he too can decide matches. I don’t know what will happen but he has been at Milan for many years and he is someone who matters for the club and for its history.”

scudetto

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“It’s difficult with a team like ours, because few players have won and are used to aiming to win a championship which is long and difficult – says Adrien -. Finishing in the top four is the general objective of the club and we know it. Personally, I’m aiming for something bigger, because it’s not that if you can get ten you can settle for six or seven. It’s not impossible. What I say and what I also say to others is that we have to have the mentality of wanting to go even higher. We have to make people understand how good it is to win our less experienced teammates. Here at Milan it is even more so. I don’t have any tattoos but I could get one if we were to win the championship. I consider myself a person who thinks a lot before doing things. And, yes, I could definitely think about a victory like that.”

cheerful

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“In my opinion, the thing that has changed Milan from last year to this year is not a player, it’s not the team, but it is the coach himself with his staff. We all know Allegri: he is good, it is very important for a team to have a coach who is so good at both a football and human level. Does he have an impact on our heads? Yes, a lot. We know that football is not just a question of legs and the coach has understood this for a long time. It’s true, there is a different relationship with him: he has I talked a lot straight away, he helped me mentally. He understands me, sometimes even without speaking.”