Rafael Leao will make his World Cup debut today against Ghana while the AC Milan management continue to ponder how to tackle his renewal, a report claims.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Calciomercato.com write how Portugal begin their World Cup adventure against Ghana at 17:00 CET hoping to do better than they did in their first game at the last three World Cups, which were the 0-0 draw against Ivory Coast in 2010, the 4-0 defeat to Germany in 2014 and the 3-3 draw with Spain in 2018.
It is expected that Portugal boss Fernando Santos will field Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix behind Cristiano Ronaldo, but Rafael Leao is ready to have his say off the bench or in the upcoming matches against Uruguay and South Korea.
His future continues to dominate the headlines but his mind is now at the World Cup, which will give him an important showcase to snatch a big new contract, whomever that might be with. It is not certain it will be with Milan though, especially if the requests are the same as in recent weeks (around €9m net per season).
Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara hoped to close the issue before the tournament in Qatar but it was not possible. In January they will return to the negotiating table, but the fact Leao’s contract is expiring in 2024 requires reflections as a decision will have to be made before the end of the season.
It can be ruled out that Leao will be allowed to leave on a free like Gianluigi Donnarumma and Franck Kessie did, because if he does not sign the renewal he will be sold in the summer, unless an irrefutable offer arrives in January.
