Rafael Leao’s future at AC Milan has been heavily debated in the last few weeks, with the winger getting benched, and Barcelona have emerged as potential suitors. However, is a move to Camp Nou really possible?
Leao is expected to be benched for the third consecutive game tonight, with Milan taking on Monza, and it’s clear that his future is uncertain. From the undisputed star of the team to indirectly being criticised for his commitment, the winger might consider his options in the summer.
As highlighted by Calciomercato.com, the last few weeks have fueled the old Barcelona rumours, as the Catalan side have been keeping tabs on Leao for quite some time. However, it would be a very expensive operation for the club, even if the No.10’s price tag is far from the €175m release clause.
Leao currently earns around €7m including bonuses and for Barcelona, that would cost around €14m gross per year. The Camp Nou side already have some of the highest-paid players in the world and adding yet another expensive star would be pushing it.
Furthermore, although great improvement has been made in recent years, Barcelona remain in a tough financial situation. There is a constant scramble for additional revenue while at the same time, a lot of money is being spent on the Camp Nou renovation project.
In short, to sign a player like Leao, it wouldn’t be enough for Barcelona to just sell one player. As the report concludes, they would have to resort to ‘major financial tricks’ to make the deal happen, and even then it would represent a huge risk.
Furthermore, it’s no coincidence that Barcelona’s big target for the left wing last summer was Nico William, whose release clause is set at €58m. He also has a more reasonable salary of around €10m gross per year.
Doesn’t make sense for any party really. And you can quote a 175M release clause all you like, that’s never been his actual value.
He was fundamental when we won scudetto, they’re still concluding his value with that.