Seedorf slams Milan over pressures put on Pato

Outspoken Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf has hit out at AC Milan and the Italian media for putting too much pressure on teenage striker Alexandre Pato.

Pato arrived at Milan from Internacional last year amidst a blaze of publicity, and great things were expected of the teenage striker as he was immediately labeled as the "new Ronaldo."

After an excellent start to his Serie A career, including a double on his debut against Napoli in January, Pato slowly began to lose form towards the end of last season.

He has also been subpar at the beginning of this campaign, and Seedorf believes that these struggles are a direct result of the unbearable pressure that has been heaped upon him by both Milan and the media.

"Now we can see that it was wrong to paint this young man, at just 18 years old, as the 'new Ronaldo,'" the notoriously outspoken Seedorf told novantesimo.it. "He is still young and we all have to stay close to him. He has had too much pressure put on him in an unjustified manner by the club and the press. I told everyone about this, but no one listened to me."

It remains to be seen how Milan will react to this latest outburst by Seedorf, who has something of a reputation of causing controversy through the use of his tongue.