The criticism continues to pour in from Milan pundits after Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao stood apart from the team during a cooling break, as more insist they ‘should’ve already been sold.’
They were initially benched during the Serie A trip to Lazio last night and combined with Tammy Abraham to score the equaliser in a 2-2 draw just 30 seconds after coming on.
However, a couple of minutes later there was a cooling break where the entire team huddled around their coach at the touchline getting instructions – except Leao and Theo Hernandez, who stood together on the complete opposite side of the pitch.
While the France international insisted it was because they had just come on and did not require a cooling break, it was still not a good message to send, especially when fellow substitutes Abraham and Yunus Musah joined the huddle.
It has prompted the long-running debate over the pair to erupt again and writer Tony Damascelli did not hold back on Radio Radio.
“If Theo Hernandez played for Crotone, he would never get called up for France. He is a player you only see when he has the ball at his feet. When the opponents have it, anything could happen.”
The left-back is certainly known more for his attacking skills than defensive, which is why Fonseca opted to drop him for the trip to Lazio.
Telelombardia director Fabio Ravezzani also explained to MilanNews.it that this issue has been brewing for a while at San Siro.
“Leao notoriously does not have football as his priority in life. Theo wanted to leave and has a turbulent past. There are no real club icons left, most of the players arrived at most 2-3 years ago.
“If a team has few leaders and a coach who the fans don’t have much faith in, then it becomes difficult.”
There were reports that Theo Hernandez was pushing for a move to Bayern Munich this summer, while Rafael Leao was linked with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
“The biggest mistake was not realising two players had reached the end of the road at Milan. Neither of them can continue to give what they’ve given this team in the past. It can only get worse, so they should’ve been sold.”
Ravezzani was also very critical of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has a still not exactly defined role as ‘advisor’ to Milan President Gerry Cardinale, but was absent at the Olimpico last night because he is on vacation.
“Ibrahimovic proved he is not a director. He is a great director of himself, he knows how to play the media, but it is paradoxical to get rid of Paolo Maldini to bring in Ibra, who after Cristiano Ronaldo is the man with the biggest ego in football.
“If he is the sole man in charge and then goes on vacation, posting selfies on social media, he certainly isn’t giving the impression of being a director. I fear the problem at Milan is not the coach, but the directors.”
