Interview with the former Lazio player, who returns to the subject of Leao.Paolo Di Canio gives his full take on the current state of Italian football and what’s happening in Serie A. Here’s what he had to say at a padel event.“In all honesty, it has to be said that in Italy, if you want to improve, you have to look to Spain or France: no team has a player about whom the public always has to say, ‘Yes, but if only he’d do this or that’. One ‘but’ in top-flight football is already too many: with him, you’re always using five or six. Only in Italy, perhaps because we have little talent, are we getting used to putting up with it: then again, it’s Milan’s business, but if they want to grow, they can’t have a player who doesn’t know how to get up, and yet ‘but, but, but’. How much does he cost? One euro, well, let’s give it a go. Eight million, if I have to renew, I don’t know.”“Tare? I’m thinking of his attitude at the Olimpico; it seems clear to me. He’s a serious manager, who’s played football and been involved in the game, who built Lazio and got them performing well, who wants to build a whole new dimension for Milan; he can’t accept this attitude. A bit of a wobbly is fine, but the problem is the overall conduct of a player who has all the potential, but is 27 years old. If he was better at 22 than at 27, it means he’s worth less: I don’t look at the numbers, I think about the goals that count. If you can see the difference without Leao, that’s one thing, but if he doesn’t play, Milan are more solid: in eight games, twenty-one goals scored and two conceded.”“Will he get angry with me? But what do I care, is he my brother or my cousin? I speak highly of many other players; Yildiz is reliable and serious. When I speak, I speak of great footballers, not at my local pub in Quarticciolo.”“Playing as a striker? It’s certainly better for him, because he scores more in Italy. The problem is what you do, what you contribute during the match apart from the goal. Because if I had a player who was lackadaisical and scored three goals for me, I’d accept it, but that doesn’t even happen in other leagues. Milan, however, can’t afford that. I’m not picking on Leao; I’m also fed up with him because, at the end of the day, I think: 188 centimetres, so much quality. But so often you wonder what he’s thinking; it strikes me that sometimes, because he has innate talent, he sees football as just a normal thing, but the real fun is in the recording studio or on the catwalk. Shirtless, just like a month ago, in winter. I’m not saying this for aesthetic reasons, but I wonder if it’s acceptable at a professional level. Apart from a deal with brands, because that’s the appeal: if they give you money for 20 minutes of photos, that’s fine. But the fashion show… Times have changed, it’s true, but the discipline hasn’t. There was a time when you could get away with certain things; now the approach is different. But the rules are the same. I’m not saying they should sell it; perhaps he’ll turn a corner and I’ll be the first to change my mind. I’m ready to enjoy this talent at its very best, like Yildiz who never disappoints and the results speak for themselves.”“It’s a completely different story. You can tell he’s got that inner drive.He reminds me of the players of yesteryear. Not that today’s lads don’t have the desire – just look at Yildiz. But he really strikes me as a player from another era; his only flaw is that he lacks pace in the box, but he drives me wild. Seeing this lad giving his all, making that final turn, staying on the ball because they’ve pulled his shirt: we’re holding on to him tight, because he really is a force of nature. First and foremost for his attitude: we need someone like him. Now we’re in for a battle. I don’t want to stir anything up: Wales want to make history, and so do Bosnia. I really like Pio; the difficulty is figuring out if he can be Inter’s undisputed striker for the next ten years: he could become a sort of Luca Toni.”Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting