Modric brands Leao ‘one of the best in the world’ but makes plea: “It just depends on him”

Luka Modric heaped praise upon Rafael Leao after his two goals helped AC Milan secure a comeback win over Fiorentina.

Milan came into the game against Fiorentina with a squad down to the bare bones after recent injuries to Adrien Rabiot, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christopher Nkunku and Pervis Estupinan, who joined Ardon Jashari in the treatment room.

The Rossoneri fell behind early in the second half to a Robin Gosens goal, but they roared back through Leao’s brace. The first was a lovely shot from around 20 yards out, and the second came after a controversial penalty awarded in the final 10 minutes.

Modric spoke to DAZN immediately after the final whistle to give his thoughts having shown another emotional reaction at full-time, and his words were relayed by Football Italia.

“Rafa is really amazing. I was looking forward to playing with him, unfortunately he got injured quickly, but now he’s getting back to fitness. This is the Rafa that we need,” Modric told DAZN Italia.

“He’s an amazing talent, from outside when I used to watch him and now when I train with him, I see him as one of the best players in the world. The incredible thing is that he can still improve, it just depends on him.

“I hope these two goals can help him grow his confidence and be the main guy for us, he will be very important and we will depend a lot on him. He showed why tonight.”

Milan are now top of the table again, having taken advantage of the fact that both Roma and Napoli lost on Saturday.

Modric added: “Now we have to take it one game at a time, we are growing, showed character and quality, so we must continue like this. There is a long way to go, but we are on the right path, and when some players return from injury, we will be even stronger.”