Rafael Leao is one of the brightest youngsters in the sport today. The Portuguese winger is already proving to be a world-class talent, and at just 24, everyone can see how bright of a future the AC Milan star has ahead of him. He has also been fortunate enough to play alongside one of the greatest, if not the greatest, players of all time on the international stage.
In a recent interview, Rafael Leao declared Cristiano Ronaldo his idol and wants to take his game to the highest level without adding one of Ronaldo’s most popular elements to his game: selfishness. He also compared himself to other top youngsters in the game, like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
Rafael Leao claims he’s ‘not a selfish player’ like Ronaldo
At 38, Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved almost everything possible in the game. Five Ballon d’Or awards, five Champions League titles, the record for the most goals in the UEFA Champions League, and several league titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus. If it’s a world record in the sport of football, Cristiano Ronaldo has probably broken or set a new one.
It’s no surprise why he has so many young players look up to him today. Top players like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have already declared the Real Madrid legend their idol, and Ronaldo has worked hard to be the best role model possible for up-and-coming players, even his young Portuguese teammate Rafael Leao.
Despite the 14-year age gap between the two, Rafael Leao has played with Ronaldo on several occasions with the Portugal national team, and as recently revealed, there’s a lot to learn from the Al-Nassr star.
“My idol? Cristiano Ronaldo. I can get to his levels, but I’m not a selfish player,” Leao recently said.
“I can score goals, but if I have a partner, I’ll pass it to him,” the young AC Milan winger added.
“Numbers make the difference. Mbappe, Ronaldo, and Haaland are at a high level; the numbers speak for them. If I become selfish, I will reach those levels,” he concluded.
Even at 38, Ronaldo outscored everyone in 2023 by scoring 54 goals, ranking higher than Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland.
Leao wants boost from Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s experience
AC Milan knew it wasn’t going to be easy qualifying in this season’s UCL after being drawn in the ‘group of death’ alongside Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle, and PSG, all heavyweight European teams.
Sadly, the Rossoneri were dumped out of the competition’s group stages by a third-place finish guaranteed them a spot in the Europa League knockout stages, where they’ll face Stade Rennais in February.
Looking at his team’s chances of winning the second-tier European competition, Rafael Leao claims they’ll draw a boost from Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s experience to try and win the trophy despite heavy competition from the likes of Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen.
“Europa League? We want to win it,” he said. “Ibra (Zlatan Ibrahimovic) won it and will pass on his experience so that we can win it as well. Milan have never won it. With all my teammates, we know we have the responsibility of being remembered for that, too,” Rafael Leao added.
For context, Zlatan Ibrahimovic recently returned to AC Milan as an advisor to the club’s management and ownership, which means he’s still heavily involved with the club, thereby being available for youngsters to turn to for director and advice.
Rafael Leao took a swipe at his idol Ronaldo earlier this season when he claimed being in the UCL was worth more than whatever amount was on offer to him from the Saudi Pro League.
Can Rafael Leao win the Europa League with AC Milan this season?
