AC Milan forward Rafael Leao was awarded the Serie A Best Player award. This is an incredible achievement for a player who’s only 22-years-old, and it only shows more success to come.
Leao continuously performed as Milan’s top scorer as well as the top playmaker in Italy this season. It’s safe to say he was a primary reason, if not the most important reason, why the Rossoneri were able to win their first Scudetto in 11 seasons this year.
⭐️ Speed, assists, goals and a lot of skills: he helped @acmilan to reach their 19th 🇮🇹!@RafaeLeao7 is the the #SerieA💎 Best Player! Well done, Rafa! 🏄♂️#WeAreCalcio #MilanScudetto pic.twitter.com/p28AWBOQpx
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) May 22, 2022
Rafael Leao Awarded Serie A Best Player at End of Season Awards
The Numbers
In 34 league matches, Leao scored 11 goals and provided ten assists. Tying him for first with Milan in Serie A goals was Olivier Giroud, one of the most experienced strikers in the game. In the season’s final game, a 3-0 victory over Sassuolo, Leao provided three brilliant assists. Giroud scored a brace and Barcelona-bound Franck Kessie scored another goal, but all of these goals came at the heels of Leao’s sublime skills and passing abilities.
In total, Leao was directly involved in 21 Serie A goals for Milan. The Rossoneri finished with 69 goals scored throughout the season, meaning Leao contributed to just under a third of all of them.
Leao also played in 2,620 minutes, meaning he contributed to a goal roughly every 124 minutes on the pitch. Milan boasts the top defence in Serie A, considering the numbers. The attack, however, often falters and fails to produce. The team was able to get results time and time again, however, due to spurts of Leao magic.
The young Portuguese forward also performed well in other competitions. He scored and assisted once in four Champions League matches. He also scored twice and assisted once in four Coppa Italia games.
Last season, Leao held six goals and six assists to his name in 30 Serie A appearances. His improvement has been clear and massive for Milan.
Looking Ahead
Milan will be in a celebratory mood for the next couple of weeks. That, of course, is due to finally ending the long Scudetto drought. Last season brought achievement in returning to Champions League, but the team is now ready for so much more after this season’s successful campaign.
Leao, of course, will be the catalyst of what’s to come. Milan’s other star forwards include the likes of Giroud and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Both, of course, are historic footballers, but their careers are heading towards their latter stages. Milan have plans on bringing in more youth to its front line, but Leao is now the focal point of the attack.
Hitting double-digits for both goals and assists in a title-winning campaign speaks volumes, but Leao can still emerge to be so much more. He has it all – from intelligence to positioning to pace and to skills. He can curl the ball beautifully into the back of the net, or he can maneuver around multiple defenders and deliver a perfectly placed pass in the box.
The sky is the limit for the young winger as he continues to grow with Milan’s strong core of youth.
