AC Milan and Rafael Leao both want to continue together but a positive conclusion must be reached on negotiations over a renewal, all with Paris Saint-Germain lurking.
Calciomercato.com report that Portuguese forward is ready to lead the team towards a new season where the goal will be to try to repeat the success achieved only a few months ago when the team won the Scudetto, and shortly after the start of the season there will be discussions over a well-earned contract extension.
Milan are still convinced they can extend the agreement with Leao, but they are also aware of the fact that an offer of €7m net per season will be needed to get closer to the demands of Leao’s entourage.
The situation is open but must be closed as quickly as possible because there is the shadow of the PSG lurking. Their sporting director Luis Campos is determined to make an attempt for the Portugal international, who is his protégé from his time at Lille.
However, at the moment there are no margins to open a discussion, because Milan do not want to sell Leao and are pointing at his €150m release clause. Soon, though, it will be necessary to accelerate the extension of his deal expiring in 2024.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again just pay that man. And before anyone says if we pay him that much then other players on the team are going to ask for that much as well…just tell them we gladly will when they win league MVP.
Ah that would be a great way to demotivate everybody. Normally a striker would be an MVP but it’s not like the others did nothing. Tonali, Maignan, Teo, Tomori…they were all crucial last season. Football is a team sport, despite the attackers usually taking most of the glory.
My point is that some contribute more than others and that’s a fact. I don’t see Ramos and Marquinhos upset there contracts don’t match Mbappe. And now we see that Leao just made the Ballon d’Or short list. Everyone matters in a team, but not everyone matters equally. It is naive to think that way.
Of course not everyone contributes the same, but you made it sound like he won the scudetto by him self with the mvp comparison. As for how much others contributed, i would say the players that i mentioned above, contributed nothing less then Leao last season. Strikers do have bigger salaries, but to pay Leao almost double then Tomori or even Theo who have been far more concistend than him actually, its just ridiculous.
It’s not at all ridiculous when you consider his position and potential. DiMaria is 34 with Gus best days far behind him and getting 7m euros at Juve. Dembele managed to play in only 21 games and score one goal in La liga last year and is getting 16m. I love all Milan players and they are all fantastic in their positions, but there’s levels to this game. A LB won’t ever earn more than a LW and really shouldn’t. Especially when that LW is 23 and on the Ballon d’Or shortlist. 7m is a BARGAIN. If you can get him to sign for 5-7m Milan should do it and fast!
You also cannot compare consistency in defense with consistency in attack. Preventing goals from being scored and actually putting the ball in the net are two very different propositions. With Tomori and Theo Leao, all those 1-0 victories he earned us would be 0-0 draws and we would not have won the Scudetto.
Di Maria is a way more proven player so normally he will get paid more. As many has pointed out to you, for 3 good months you can’t ask the same as someone who is a proven champion. Barca giving ridiculous salaries put them where they are now, do you want Milan to be in such a position by following Barca example? Why would we follow a bad example? Barca themself is reducing sallaries now. In general comparing salaries from other clubs and leagues dosn’t make to much sense since not every club/league earns the same. Also you didn’t understand my point for contribution. Loking at just who scored the goal is super selective and short sided. Let’s say Leao scored a goal but we concead 3 at the back, so his goal is worthless. No scudetto again, so you see defence is also very important. Or if Theo dosent carry the ball forward and pass to Leao to score, then again no goal, no scudetto and Leao would just stand up front doing nothing all game which will make his rating terrible. Again football is a team sport.
Bullshit, he was good for 3 months, nothing more. He scored in the last games a lot, that where the important games for the league but with 3 months you aren’t a real mvp, it’s just that they needed to give it to someone who won the league, Lukaku won the MVP with 35 G/A, then it’s a fair mvp, even Dzeko had close to leao’s stats. Tomori and Theo where much more important
Leao has a dozen assists to go along with this 14 goals. A massive contribution from the wing considering we had almost no threat from the right side allowing teams to double and triple team him at times. And now he’s made the short list for Ballon d’Or. The best forwards get paid the most, just like starting pitchers in baseball and QBs in American football. 7m would be an absolute bargain when you look at comparable talents in other leagues earning more than double that.
In 3 years as a Milan player Leso hasn’t shown up vs the big teams. Vs Juve, Napoli or Inter he only had 1 good game vs Inyer 2 years ago when inter played with Kolarov and Dambrosio as CB . In every other game vs those big teams he was nowhere to be found.
He needs to show consistency especially in big games vs big teams. Up till now he has been only a bottom feeder
Scored the winning goal against Atalanta and provided all 3 assists to win us the Scudetto against Sassuolo but ok. Seems your standards are nearly impossible. Must score against specific teams for a number of years in a row to earn the salary he wants. Meanwhile players get signed on mega deals all the time off of one good season or tournament performance. You’re not being realistic at all.
Yes you wanna get paid 7 mil( by far the most on the team) I need you to show up in big games vs the big teams not just vs Atalanta who hasn’t been good since Papu Gomez left or Sassuolo who had nothing to play for.
You talking about this guy like he scored 25 goals not only 11, same number as Giroud BTW and only 3 more than 40 year old Ibra in only a quarter season.
Just for comparison what a great player look like . Andriy Shevchenko in his 1st season in Italy was only 1 year older, 21, than Leao was at 20. iShevchenko scored 24 goals in year 1 in serie A. Leao in 3 years has scored 23 goals total.
Sheva showed up in every big game Milan played , still the highest scorer in Milan derbies.
And yes if Sheva played today , he would be playing in leao spot at LW
And yes you are right players get signed to a mega deals after 1 good year, like Dembele. Barca paid 145 mil for him and how that turned out. RMadrid paid 60 for Jovic after 1 good year, he has scored 3 more goals for Real than I have scored.
In 2022 7m is not high wages for the teams best player. You can say whatever you like but that is true. On Juventus no less than half a dozen players earn at least 6m net, and that includes the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Rabiot. To pay 7 for a player who won league MVP and is on the Ballon d’Or shortlist is a bargain in football in the year 2022. We must agree to disagree but the lions share of the evidence supports my position.
Just because in 2022 a lot of people buy Mercedes doesn’t mean a person that doesn’t bring in enough money should also go buy a Mercedes.
Milan financially cannot compete with the big teams in Europe, including Juventus. Milan doesn’t have the commercial power , doesn’t have their own stadium nor does it sell players for profit.
So what If he is on the short list for Ballon Dor. His chances to win it are as high as chances of another player who isn’t even on the list. That’s only a symbolic gesture. Just like Kjaer last year.
A good investment is just that, an investment. Our argument will be settled by his form in the coming season. All Milanisti will be hoping I am correct, and he proves to be worth every penny.
And even that 3 months was in reality closer to 2 than 3.
If he continues where he left of and in December he has 10 goals and 10 assists, I say pay him the 7M€ he (eh, Mendes) wants.
If you dont want to change club politic and go over 4 m € sallaries then at least sell players on time cause they wont play for 4 for sure…not now and not in 1 year,never..
Probably should have tried to sell at the start of the window – let’s hope we get two good years before he leaves now. He may have been advised to wait at Milan anyway.
Don’t be cheapskates and pay the man with a five year contract.
I’m saying! This guy could be a generational talent. Don’t lose him thinking that Rebic would be just as good. Nonsense. Systems and coaching are crucial but some players are special and this boy is special.
He needs to show consistency before he asks that much money. Half a good season doesn’t warrant his salary demands.
Diference between great players and good players is that the great players do it week in week out, every game.
Leao isn’t even consistent during a game . He often dissappear..
Show consistency and you will get your 7 mil. Right now I wouldn’t pay him a dime more than Theo gets
Exactly.
7m. For How many. Season performance ??? Black market. Milan should sell him on time.
It’s crazy how many of the fans were desperate for Milan to invest 35m plus salary to bring CDK to the team who hasn’t played a single second of Serie A but won’t invest 35m to secure Leao for the next 5 years…who has single handedly won us games in our first Scudetto season in over a decade.
Because giving Leao a 5 year contract with 7 mil salary will cost Milan a lot more than 35 mil.
7 mil is net not gross.
Romagnoli was making 5.5 Mil net last year, but it cost Milan 12.5mil.
The cost is a lot higher in wages than in transfer fees. Milan or any club would rather pay 35 mil for CDK and give him 2.5 mil salary than sign a free agent on a 6 mil salary.
That’s true but then CDK is a massive investment. 35m plus another 25 in salary that’s 60m over 5 years for someone who has proven nothing in Serie A versus 60m over 5 years for the current League MVP.
CDK net salary ~2.5 puts his gross around 5. 5 season deal is 25 plus the transfer cost. Works out to about the same. Some players are worth higher wages. Leao is one of those players. Without him we do not win Scudetto. Full stop.
Well said @Flossonero! Could not agree more. Pay Leao the 7M. Sign him to a new 5 year deal. THEN IF we need to sell him down the road (which I hope we never do) we do it from a position of strength. Hasn’t anyone learned from the Donnaruma debacle? 100M pissed away for nothing. It’s business
Maldini the tactician…
If he doesn’t sign before jan they will accept 80+ million for him.
With 80 million they can sign 3 players with similar potential. Or 80 Kalulus.
At least this one doesn’t leave for free(hopefully)
Lies!!!!!!!!!! Leao is not asking for 7m, these writers are just trash, that’s how they keep on increasing players demand just to stir reaction from the fans. How on earth will Leao demand 7m? This was exactly what happened with kessie, they accused him of demanding 8m when what he wanted was 6m and Milan was offering 4.5m, they have started with accusing Leao of 7m, these writers needs to be sued sometimes………very soon we will hear that Leao increased it to 9m, useless journalists
Spero che il Milan venda presto Leao, perché farà bene alle finanze del club. E immagino di poter trovare di nuovo un sostituto. Perché credo che MMM sia intelligente nel trovare talenti
It is simple . Give him highest salary among AC Milan player like ibra last season 6m euro nett + bonus 1m euro or sell him . I would prefer give him that 7m euro for 5 years if im in charge but i dont know how new owner policy about salary cap. If we dont renew him till september 2023 then he will go reject all offer till 2024 and go free transfer for big commission perhaps 15-20m euro
For those that say NOT to pay Leao 7M/season I ask this one question. Do you realize a trash player like Rabiot (Juve) makes 7M/season? And Juve are going to sell him to United for 20M lol. So complaining about giving Leao who is only 21 and as Zlatan said – has the talent to become the best player in the world – 7M is hilarious. Sorry to say but 7M in professional football isn’t a lot of money. We saw it with Donnaruma. The same fans screamed we shouldn’t pay him because nobody would pay him that amount (12M/season) we’re dead wrong. He got it. Same will happen with Leao. Do you really think PSG or Madrid won’t give him 7M/season and won’t sign him because they already have players in that position? LOL. Ya they never do that 🤭. Younger Players in todays game are not always paid on what they have achieved – but are paid based on what they could become. When you sign them to a 5 year agreement you are not only paying what that player is worth today but what is expected in the future. You also have to account for the constant increase in base salaries each and every year due to other richer leagues like the EPL. 7M to an EPL side is nothing. Neither is 12M. Point is you can always find a buyer for a talented player signed to a 7M deal/season. Rabiot (hardly in the same class of talent like Leao) is a prime example. Much better to pay him than letting him leave for free. Kessie was another example. Now it would be different if the salaries in a Serie A were greater than the salaries in the EPL or other leagues – but that is not the case at the moment nor will be anytime soon. So these fake claims that nobody would sign Leao at 7M (like was said with Kessie and Donnaruma) are just pure BS and have no factual basis. Pay Leao. Period
Yep now are good chance to give him that 7m euro nett or just sell him. If waiting till 2023 even you offer him 7m euro nett,he wont renew & reject all offer from buyer for free transfer on 2024. He can get 20m euro commission if free transfer and thats alot of money . Renew him now before 2023
Leao doesn’t deserve that amount until proven so