AC Milan are feeling the pressure to resolve the long-term future of Rafael Leao as two clubs are interested in signing him, a report claims.
Leao is having an excellent season having reached 12 goals across all competitions which matches the combined sum from his first two seasons at the club and the general opinion is that he has been more consistent in 2021-22.
According to La Repubblica, Leao has a contract with Milan until 30 June 2024, at just over €1.4m a year, and the club obviously intends to renew it until 2026 and an unofficial offer with figures similar to those of the agreement reached last February with Theo Hernandez (€4m net a year plus bonuses) was formulated.
Leao is happy with Milan, with life under head coach Stefano Pioli and he has an excellent relationship with the management, but Jorge Mendes is his agent and he knows that Newcastle and Manchester City would guarantee a minimum wage of €7m net and can shell out the minimum €70m needed in transfer fee, even if City seem to be focusing on Haaland.
The incoming Bahraini ownership of Milan – Investcorp – could certainly help move things forward. The undeclared salary ceiling was put in place by the CEO Ivan Gazidis at €4m net per season and while there were exceptions, it remained a limit for younger players.
Then there is the lawsuit brought by Sporting CP who want to be compensated for the unilateral termination of Leao’s contract in 2018. The Court of Arbitration for Sport established that Lille are jointly and severally liable for the lack of compensation to Sporting and that it will have to contribute to the payment of the fine of €16.5m, revalued to €20m for the late payment.
The legal matter is not yet closed, but Leao is calm while he continues to be decisive on the field for Milan, while PSG, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona also look on.
