Gianluca Di Marzio has snubbed any notion that there is a deadline by which AC Milan must have renewed Rafael Leao’s deal, and again stressed his confidence that an agreement is reached.
The pressure that Milan face regarding Leao’s contractual situation has been well documented, given that the Portuguese winger is currently on a deal that runs out in June 2024 and at present there is nothing to suggest an extension is imminent.
Without an agreement over a renewal, Milan would not only be forced to sell Leao this summer to avoid losing him on a free in 2024, but they might also have to settle for offers well below the real market value of the former Lille man.
Speaking on Sky (via MilanNews), Di Marzio gave his latest updates on the negotiation for the renewal of Leao’s contract and he not only denied the notion of an ultimatum but he provided a positive outlook.
“I go against the tide with respect to sensations and perceptions, I remain very confident and I believe that there is great serenity between the parties,” he said.
“There are no deadlines, there are no ultimatums, there is the will to find a solution and an understanding. So I think that as for Giroud, the signing may not arrive before the Champions League match, but there is the will to reach this agreement. The parties continue to negotiate with great serenity.”
I think everyone know that he will not renew his contract and will leave for free for a “Bigger” club.
Nobody really cares anymore at this point. He does not assist or score frequently enough anyways. He is turning 24 and is still a developing product. At his age Mbappe had already been an established attacking player.
“Bigger club”. That’s true written. Milan is biggest club.
Only problem is the money. Milan can’t find replacement for next season. We are missing at least 3 or 4 signings…
Di Marzio is deluded. Leao and entourage wants a lot of money, and it is hardly to believe that Milan is going invest all money on Leao. There are so many gaps in this team that Leao sales might be best option for club
in what word is milan bigger than real madrid?
We are all Milan fans here but some of us live in reality.
Only in the region of Lombardy Milan can be considered the biggest club.
Juventus is the biggest club in Italy, Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world
If he will not renew till summer. Sell him. If he wants to renew it would already happend. I dont know excatly what Milans offer is but if they are too stingy then sell him. But if Leao isnt performing also Milan is not performing. Its sad to see but we need at least 4-5 signing this summer. On CB, MF ( a la Kessie), RW, Striker (under 35), and LW
Hilarious to see this forum completely trash Leao as if he is not the most influential player on the team. He hasn’t played his best as of late, but there is no structure to the team’s play and essentially what he is ultimately criticized for is for not pulling magic out of his hat even when players around him do not provide anything. It’s foolish. The ultimate solution may be that he must be sold and the money reinvested, but that doesn’t mean that without him the team is better. If Leao tore his ACL tomorrow and Milan had to play the rest of the season without him, and without adding any replacements, you would see just how bad things can be. When any other forward player is actually playing well, please do let me know. It will be the first time in a long time. Somehow it’s all Leao’s fault though. Terrific.
the only thing Milan fans are worried is to loose him for free. I agree that if Leao isnt performing nothing is happening in attacking and you can rather see that we are winning by one goal or lose or have a draw. The whole team is sleeping at the moment there is no fire inside of them. But what I want to say is that Milan were overperforming last season and you cant expect that every season. What is missing is the RW that we are waiting for 2-3 seasons already. Kessie is missing and at the moment there is no additional power from the bench.
@DJS completely agree with u and Milanista. My problem this year was that we over relied on on wing. Last year we moved the ball around. Both Calabria and Salad were effective last year and impactful. As much as ppl criticize Calabria, to me he was key in the old system. But yea, if Leao mind is somewhere it might be best to find another
Yes and no his attacing creativitiy would certinaly be lacking but his defensive contribution and pressing will definetly not be missed…. Top wingers all track back and provide at lest some pressing Leao was allway bad at those things but this year it got to whole new level and surprise surprise it can be seen in our game.
“and essentially what he is ultimately criticized for is for not pulling magic out of his hat even when players around him do not provide anything. It’s foolish.”
Nope. Most people criticize him for his lack of efforts. He doesn’t defend, he doesn’t press. It’s a team play where every player needs to do their part. So… Let’s say it’s OK for Leao to NOT defend and press so he can focus on attacking. OK… Fine. So… He has been given the the approval for attacking only. What’s the outcome? Does he deliver? Nope. He hasn’t done anything.
THERE’s the problem. He’s not defending. He’s not performing in the attacking phase. What good does he do for the team? Please enlighten us.
And the old man Giroud (who’s almost twice his age) runs more and defends more every match and still has the energy to score goals. So what’s Leao’s excuse?
Confident was exactly the reason why we lost Kessie, and several others before, for free. In this kind of football era, be a rational instead.
But come on if I’m not wrong Leao earns 1.5 mil a year. Thats was a great deal for milan for a long time. Now… Yes we eather give him a big contract or risk losing him for free.
If they don’t renew him or at least get 90m manegment has to go …. There is no money in serie A but we are only top 7 club that got worst over the past 3 transfer windows and made 0€ on player sales in that time, tell me a club in seria a that did that and some how Maldini and Massara are geniuses. We have an amazing scouting staff all of their targets became at least 60+m players but we go chasing for freaking Renato Sancez and Origi and also renew fuking Mesisas oh don’t forget that backup GK …..
On what planet are there “no deadlines”? If he doesn’t renew or is sold over the summer, then he will move into the last year of his contract. At that point, he becomes infinitely more attractive to other teams because they can get him on a free transfer – and they can use the money they’d save on a transfer fee to offer him much higher wages than Milan ever could.