One of Gerry Cardinale’s first jobs after RedBird Capital took over at AC Milan will be to secure the long-term future of Rafael Leao.
As reported this morning by Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews), Leao has a contract that binds him to Milan until 2024 and it will be Cardinale’s first task to try and make sure that he stays around. Back in December, Maldini and Massara tried to move ahead of time and extend the Portuguese winger’s deal by adjusting the salary to €4m net per season, a bit like they did with Theo Hernandez.
The paper adds that €7m per year will be needed to keep the former Lille man at Milanello and complying with that demand would mean exceeding the salary ceiling. However, it may be the price to pay given Leao is being courted by several top European clubs.
In recent months PSG came forward and more recently both Real Madrid and Manchester City have knocked on the door, but Maldini recently confirmed that in Leao’s contract there is a €150m clause that, at the moment, the clubs interested will have to spend.
There will be attempts by the management to extend his deadline beyond 2024 and raise that release clause, and it is believed that a figure around €250m may be adequate.
