There is no doubt that the AC Milan management will have had a smile on their face watching Rafael Leao in his World Cup debut, but they will also have had at least half a thought about his renewal.
Calciomercato.com write how Leao was only on the field for three minutes in place of Ruben Neves before he sent the ultimate message to head coach Fernando Santos by making it 3-1 with a lovely finish, and that wasn’t even the first goal Portugal scored while he was on.
Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva were the players chosen from minute one but Leao staked a claim to get the nod against Uruguay and South Korea as part of the starting XI after his precise finish having opened onto his right foot.
Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara were convinced they could close the very complicated renewal issue before the end of 2022, but the World Cup is too tempting a showcase and the current request of €9m net per season to extend might not be enough.
There is also the annoying issue related to the fine to be paid to Sporting CP but the Milan management will meet again with his entourage after the tournament in Qatar, with the knowledge that if he stays in the limelight the situation could be even more difficult.
As I’ve said before on this platform, Papa Pioli, Don Paolo, and their associates are among the most astute judges of horse flesh in professional football. They’ve assembled the skeleton of a great AC Milan team (Magnian, Theo, Tomori, Bennacer, Tonali, Giroud, and the powerful, explosive, lethal Rafael Leao). The only question now is whether Redbird will keep that skeleton and strengthen it, or will they disassemble it by selling off its best parts. In other words, are the Rossoneri finally going to become the finished product and rule the world again? Or will they forever stay a work-in-progress, a feeder club for the EPL, PSG, and Real Madrid?
You know the answer to that question so let’s not beat about the bush!
RedBeard or whatever, have ZERO intentions of renewing Leao’s contract.
So, it begs the question – why buy Milan in the first place. All that talk about stadium, and more marketing expansion is good, but unless you are a Real Madrid, or Manu that have the financial might clout and fan base. The ONLY way a club can be viable is when it it competitive on the filed.
The question now is CAN they maximize and get value from the sale of Leao? We all how well Milan sells players in the past.
Haha!
“So, it begs the question – why buy Milan in the first place. ”
To gain more money. Simple. They know how to do it. They have a long history of doing just that.
To be fair they’ve secured the renewals of everyone you’ve mentioned aside from Bennacer and Leao and the Bennacer renewal seems to be locked in. So they have made the effort to keep the team together and reach higher heights.
Exactly. Good demonstration of what happens when both parties want the same thing. Unlike in Leao’s case where his dad & agent(s) have huge dollarsigns in their eyes and nothing else matters.
Theo, Tomori, and Tonali already renew. Giroud and Bennacer are in talks for renew and big chance they will pen the paper.
That left Leao which is complicated because he asked Milan to pay his fine against Sporting + 7-9 million /year which is a lot.
And many clubs who are not rich af has been feeder club for EPL, PSG, Madrid, and Bayern.
You can’t expect Milan to compete with those rich clubs when they don’t even have their own stadium while UEFA keeps punishing them with bullshit FFP for years.
Red Bird wants money (they will sell Milan) so everything depends about CEO and Paolo Maldini. If Maldini calculate with Leao to stay this winter, he Will lose on summer price. Also Milan needs to be strenghtened with Leao on 3 positions.
Maldini would make best job if he managed to sell Leao for 100m+ this winter, because after can invest in all position needed in summer.
And where will Milan be on the league standing? Paolo got the hardest job in this world. It depends on what you choose. You choose glory or you choose money.
Money : go on, sell Leao one of the generational talent in football, and we might need to wait in another 10 years to see someone step up again. And the consequences is, we might be out of scudetto race and even worse, out of top 4 finish
Glory : he still has 1.5 years of service for Milan. Negotiate until the end, and Milan still retain the best squad they currently have until next season, fight for glory. Consequence is, we may lose him for free (99.9%).
Me personally, I dont care about Milan balance sheet. I dont care how Milan run their business with debt. As for as I know, there is no trophy for healthy balance sheet. All I care is glory for Milan
Milan cannot compete with the offers from others and therefore Leao will leave. It’s a simple as that. And most likely Leao will leave for free just to maximize the signing bonuses of his dad & agents.
“Me personally, I dont care about Milan balance sheet. I dont care how Milan run their business with debt. ”
Yeah. Sounds mature. Let the club go bankrupt. LOL.
Yeah, so mature. No club in history of football will be bankrupt due to player leaving for free. LOL
Direct quote from YOU:
“Me personally, I dont care about Milan balance sheet. I dont care how Milan run their business with debt. ”
Where did you say ANYTHING about one player leaving for free and THAT being the reason for bankrupt?
Well he wasn’t going to stay anyway, hopefully this will mean some club owner decides he’s determined to buy him before he’s a free agent. Though I doubt it. Enjoy it whilst we can guys…
You idiots know nothing about running clubs or any other sort of business. 9-10m per year is not sustainable for any Serie A club. It has zero to do with the ownership. Somehow people keep overlooking the UEFA imposed sustainability requirements on clubs. Milan, in particular, are STILL under A deferred action agreement. The highest paid player in Serie A is Lukaku at 8.5m net and then followed by Pogba at 8m, players who play for clubs drowns in debt, with Inter looking for investors and Juventus always “injecting” cash and cooking the books. Even English clubs owners are looking to get out. Meanwhile Milan just won a scudetto paying 57m net vs. Juventus’ 111m net and Inter’s 91m net. Nevermind we keep deceasing our year over year loss. Meanwhile Napoli is destroying the league this year with a guy they paid 10m for and are paying 2m per year. Sell Leao for whatever he will fetch in January and strengthen 3-4 positions with that money. Haha.
Thank you. I was going to write similar but you’ve saved me the headache. People have absolutely zero clue on how any business in much a club is run. See above idiot comments, and Redbird hasn’t even had a transfer window yet for us to judge much less several transfer windows. Alot of ppl want a quick path to glory with established stars. We’re not that team anymore. We’re the grow from the youth type teams..
3-4 position with 100mil? Plus you need to find replacement on the left wing? Haha
You see someone cost 35mil and being clueless in the field for the entire half season. Finding replacement is not easy, and an added dificulty, we might never scout for LW for so long due to that position is well covered for so many years
We already have his replacement at LW. CHAKA TRAORE. 100m from Leao + the “regular” budget of 40-50m = 140-150m. Spend that on ST, RW, CM and backup LB for Theo. Done.
‘We already have replacement’ means this kid is ready to fill Leao shoes? IMO, this is delusional. Please remind me, how long did Calabria needs to become regular starter in Milan?
And then first of all, are you sure that 100mil from Leao sale will be allocated 100% to transfer budget?
Of course it won’t. But even 80% would suffice.
Anybody who keeps slagging Seria A clubs for being “feeder” clubs to the EPL is a deluded idiot. Yes, they are “feeder” clubs for the EPL, and have been so for over a decade. Unless you are PSG, Bayern, or Madrid, you are a “feeder” club for the EPL. Can’t compete with a league run by oil money that also has a 3bn Euro per year TV distribution deal. If you don’t like supporting a “feeder” club you can go support Newcastle. I hear they are accepting new fans.
Amen! Well said!
Redbird is investment entity. They are cheap same as any amerucsn investor
Look at what liberty did to f1 and take a note
American** apologies
And look what the Americans did to Liverpool too! Shameful, eh?
Poor move,just should have given him the extra million,while he would have taken it,Inter can afford to delay skriniar,Milan can’t.
Give him the extra million and the demand goes up 1M€. We’ve learned that from the past just recently. That’s how it goes when the player isn’t committed to the club and wants more and more money.
I dont understand inter owner. They have billion of assets in uae alone if they sell one building a prime property in dubai they will clear everything they have are worth close to 15b that’s on paper not referring to their hidden wealth…..but with us milan its different may be cost of loosing is too high….
I think we all know he will be sold. The only question is when and to whom.
This case same like Dollaruma and Cashie isn’t? More, more and more demand+money then results is free transfer
Yep. 1:1 the same.
Doesn’t matter. If Napoli can find Kvaratskhelia for 10 mil….sure there is another gem out there waiting to be found
I think it will depend on our UCL stages. If we can move away to QF, SF, or Final, we will get a huge money, so we don’t need to sell Leao. But if we lose to Spurs tomorrow, I think we have to sell him in summer for €100M+ and used it to buy a new strong LW & fast RW.
We will probably lose to Spurs, especially if we play like the last weeks
Well just like we found leao we will find some one down the line. I know ppl will bash me it will take years but reality is we are not own run by some billionaire rather an investment fund….let’s put in simplier terms milan can’t afford his salary the best option is cash him out which will eventually happen if not this winter then may be in summer…he won’t renew and all this players will are horse $hit. Invest wisely which I think they will no doubt about that….but overall seria a clubs are not feeder clubs it’s about Italian sports heads who are to blame….seria a is in shambles no stadiums no investment and this is what happens….Italy can’t qualify in major event seria a stars leaving why because money talks and clubs can’t afford here….match timings are pathetic. The whole system and organisation is in shambles its high times they bring some reforms in Italian sports. Other wise we will keep on barking blaming one owner to another…I mean it takes a decade to just to bring stadium proposal in line forget about either it will finalise or not I mean how Italy is running as a country is miracle itself. No offence guys
I hope Milan learned their lessons on buying/getting players with shady past. If there’s ANY contract issues in the past it’s better to skip that player. It’s like they’re asking for trouble.
Milan obviously doesn’t know that Leao had contract problems with Sporting since they bought him straight from Lille.
And the contract problem doesn’t even shows up until mid or the end of last year when Sporting sued Leao.
“Milan obviously doesn’t know that Leao had contract problems with Sporting since they bought him straight from Lille. ”
Really? As if they don’t do any background checks for the players they hire. Of course they knew. It’s not like it was a hidden secret that Leao unilaterally broke the contract with Sporting before leaving for France.
well said in total, no way to keep a leao or theo and milan must absolutely maintain the path taken, 60mio team and win scudetto is big. Being a feeder club is not a bad thing and nowadays it’s the only way back to the top.
Super stupid that we couldnt achieve with talents such as Kessie and Dollaruma a transfer fee, here the club must immediately rethink otherwise it will not end well.
A few things….Milan are more stable since 2013, well done. Milan did very well to not incur massive debt during the COVID period but don’t have financial clout as Europe’s big teams. Milan have recruited positively but need to reap on sales. FFP and salary caps need a deadline date. We must sell Leao sooner and maintain football sustainability. Future plans must be clearly outlined and not be derailed by new stadium project although they are linked. Remember Arsenal. Redbird needs to add to investment. Primevera really needs to be a feeder for the senior team. The AC Milan name is brighter than before…. Don’t let it go dim.
A club that wants to win the Champions League in the next few years doesn’t sell or give away its stars to the EPL, PSG, Bayern, and Real Madrid before it has achieved that objective. Leao is a unique talent – the new Kaka – and while it may make economic sense to sell him now, it would be football madness to do so. I agree that AC Milan needs to live within its means and keep its financial affairs in order. But AC Milan is more than a business enterprise. It’s a renowned cultural institution with a global following that has enjoyed great success during its long and distinguished history. Rossoneri fans judge their club not just by how many Scudettos it wins, but also by how it performs in Europe. It’s now more than 15 years since AC Milan last won the CL. How many more barren years must Milanista endure before their club tastes European glory again? It will be forever if we don’t keep our stars. So how should the club balance the need for financial stability with the imperative of success on the pitch at the highest level? It seems we either bring in new investors with deep pockets who will plough lots of money into the club but don’t demand a quick financial return and instead are willing to take a long view (e.g. a Middle East sovereign fund); or the club leaves Serie A and plays in a new competition – a pan- European league – which can generate TV broadcasting revenues that match those of the EPL. Unless either of those two transformative things happens, the future of the once mighty AC Milan – an aristocratic club that has produced some of the finest teams in history – will be to serve as a nursery for the EPL, PSG, Bayern, and Real Madrid, and a retirement home for their aging and fading stars. Milanista deserve better.