DUARTE: "READY TO FIGHT FOR MY PLACE"

Today was the day of the official presentation of our three newest signings at Milanello: Leão, Bennacer and Duarte. The press conference, broadcast live on the new AC Milan App, took place before daily training. The three Rossoneri expressed their aims and emotions ahead of this new adventure in a Milan shirt, with the season now right around the corner. Here is what Léo Duarte had to say.

THE CALL FROM MILAN
“I’m very happy to be here. My father always spoke to me about Milan and it brings me a real sense of pride to be here right now. When I got the call from Paolo Maldini, I was out shopping with my wife. My father has always been a huge fan of Paolo's. Now I'm here, and I want to make history at this club.”

ADAPTING TO A NEW STYLE OF FOOTBALL
“Football in Brazil is certainly different from that in Italy, especially in terms of tactics. I still need a few more days to adapt to the Club and Coach Marco Giampaolo’s ideas. I'll try to learn the language as soon as possible and adapt to the Coach's game.”

THIAGO SILVA AND ROMAGNOLI
“I might resemble Thiago Silva in my build and physical attributes, but that’s a difficult comparison because he's an incredible defender. If I could even achieve half the success that Thiago did at this club, I'll be satisfied. Alessio Romagnoli is a great player, I had the chance to watch him a lot in Brazil while watching Milan's matches. He’s helped me a lot with my positioning on the pitch in these first few days, and thanks to him I’m hoping to adapt more quickly and to be able to give my contribution to the team.”

THE COMPETITION FOR A PLACE
“If you need to eat grass here to get a spot in the team, I will. I'm aware that there are a lot of quality defenders here at AC Milan: there's going to be healthy competition, and the best of us will play.”

The official PUMA match kits for the 2019/20 season are available in the AC Milan Online Store!