Rafael Leao had declared his desire to leave AC Milan, which should have been final. However, a stay still cannot be ruled out.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Leao’s mind right now is solely focused on Portugal vs. Croatia in the round of 32. It will be played on July 3 and it will see the winger face off against his club team-mate Luka Modric.
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The time for groups, calculations, and warm-up matches is over. Now the real action begins, the do-or-die battle gets underway, and Leao wants to build consistency in his final two matches so he gets a starting spot.
What his date depends on
Leao is thinking about Croatia, of course, but at the same time he can’t completely erase Milan from his thoughts. It’s unlikely he will speak with Modric about the Rossoneri when they meet, but there’s no doubt they share an uncertain destiny.
Except the Croatian, thanks to his 40-year experience, has been a tad more cautious in his statements. He’ll decide after the World Cup and there’s no point in trying to extract anything more from him. Leao, on the other hand, informed the world that he wants to move on from Milan after seven years.
He revealed a preference for playing in England or Spain next, countries from which no club has shown interest in the meantime. This is undoubtedly also why the Portuguese has been much less blunt about his future in recent days.
“I know Amorim is a very good coach, he did well in Portugal, things didn’t go as planned at United, but he’s still a great coach. I’ll decide what to do after the World Cup,” he said in his last interview after scoring against Uzbekistan.
Milan’s stance
Leao, in the club’s eyes, is one of the very first names on the transfer list, and they did even before his public declarations. If he considers his marriage to the Diavolo over, the same goes for the club, especially given the need to raise some funds after the club-record signing of Goncalo Ramos.
So, what’s the next step? Probably the decisive one: a face-to-face meeting, or at least a phone call, with Amorim to determine which path to take, to determine whether it’s a clear path or perhaps a fork in the road.
The new coach’s judgment will certainly be crucial: judging by the dynamics of recent weeks, Amorim is a coach who matters more than his predecessors. His assessment will be taken into great consideration.
If it’s a thumbs-down, Leao’s people will need to bring a worthy offer to Casa Milan. If it’s a thumbs-up – currently the least likely scenario – he’ll have to begin a patient and painstaking process of rebuilding bridges and adapting to the new system.
Amorim’s principles have always been very clear: attacking midfielders who roam wide, intensity, pressing, double-teaming, hard work. Consistency is needed: at 27, can Leao guarantee all of that?
No, he can’t, take 60 (or 70) and sell that lazy guy. This can’t be done by force, he is not Ronaldinho and this is not 2005 or 2006 or even 2010 MILAN. While 50 million euros could be considered quite low, an offer of 70 million could be perceived as more than a decent figure all things considered.
It’s not like many things worked in Leao’s favour these last few years, it was exactly the opposite if anything and this is our last chance to cash RL in. Silva and Pulisic would’ve been a perfect tandem behind Ramos but that very short dream of ours
is over and done with now- I don’t think securing
a Champions league spot would change anything in that regard but it certainly wouldn’t (have) hurt and diminish(ed) our chances either, we probably never stood a chance regardless of the outcome which is the saddest part of it all and who knows what lies ahead of us…
No one will offer 60 or 70M€ for him though. Even 40M€ would be a stretch. 🤷♂️
We’ll see, these are crazy times, let them table
55 plus bonuses and maybe we can talk LOL
A hat-trick against Croatia could raise his price… 🫣
Amorim values hard work….bye Leao
Aaaand where would he play? Clearly not starting in front of the 74M man. As one of the two behind the striker? LOL. This dude can’t play anything other than LW, on the touchline, with space in front of him. He is barely passable as a striker. No way he can be a playmaker. Thanks for the good times WAY45, but those days are over.
” intensity, pressing, double-teaming, hard work. Consistency…”
These attributes are not how I would describe Leao.
Brilliant individual offensive talent. But not the 2-way player that Amorim demands.