Leao pays respect to ‘one of the most important coaches’ Pioli | OneFootball

Rafael Leao made sure to pay his respects to former Milan coach Stefano Pioli in a recent interview, thanking him for the opportunities at the start of his San Siro career.

The Portugal international gave an in-depth interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport, published on Thursday.

Leao tribute to Pioli

Leao dubbed Pioli ‘one of the most important coaches of my career’, and added that he will always be indebted to the recently-departed 58-year-old.

“He and I came up together, as a coach and player. He helped me, he gave me the opportunity to become an important player for this team, and I will forever be thankful to him for that. He will always stay as one of the most important coaches of my career,” the winger told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Leao moved to Milan in August of 2019, a few weeks before Pioli arrived to replace Marco Giampaolo in the San Siro dugout. They then went on to spend five years together, culminating in a Scudetto win in the 2021-22 season.

Pioli officially left his position as head coach of the Rossoneri at the end of May, and has since been replaced by the Portuguese Paulo Fonseca.