Now 31, Niang plays for Genclerbirligi, while Pato is long retired.
Advertisement
Advertisement
He recalled this week: "At Milan , you had Robinho, (Pippo) Inzaghi, and (Rino) Gattuso too. But the guy who shocked me—it's a shame he got injured so much—was Pato.
"From what I saw of Pato, even (Kylian) Mbappé doesn't do that. And we're talking about Mbappé. Right foot, left foot, strength, header, powerful… He had thighs like that, you'd be scared.
"Your two thighs were one thigh to him. And he was fast. But he had a lot of physical problems, he was with (Silvio) Berlusconi's daughter, may he rest in peace, he was always getting injured and it was complicated. But he was just too good.”