AC Milan have softened their stance regarding a key part of Rafael Leao’s renewal in order to hopefully boost their chances of keeping him, a report claims.
The issue of Leao’s renewal continues to dominate the media headlines after a fantastic start to the current campaign which followed him being crowned the Serie A MVP during the title winning season in 2021-22.
There are a number of obstacles that the Milan management must try and navigate as per virtually every major source, from the winger’s high salary demands to the power of attorney battle between a family lawyer and his agent Jorge Mendes.
According to what is being reported by SportMediaset (via Calciomercato.com), Milan are looking to remove one of the hurdles because for the first time they have opened to the payment of the compensation that Leao must pay to Sporting CP.
The 23-year-old terminated his deal at Sporting after an incident involving fans at the training ground in 2018 and then moved to Lille on a free, but it has been ruled that he and Lille jointly owe €19.5m to the Portuguese side, and Milan are now happy to help contribute.
I said this in a comment on here a few weeks ago and had several commenters adamantly disagreeing with me.
The fact is it’s irrelevant whether Milan “should” have to pay part of this payment to Sporting or not. Leao has to have this resolved and if it doesn’t happen with Milan it will happen when he goes somewhere else.
That makes it a no brainer for Milan. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to how much Milan would lose out on if Leao leaves without signing an extension. The only logical route to take for Milan’s management is to pay whatever is deemed necessary towards the Sporting issue as part of an agreement with Leao to extend his contract.
Agreed
Sound logic, but what is irrelevant is Milan’s decision to do this as other clubs will “resolve” this AND pay Leao 10m per year base salary, so a defacto outlay of 12m per year (10m per year base salary + 9.5 Sporting debt / 5 year contract length), which Milan can’t do regardless. So we’re still stuck on square 1 unless Milan also increases their base salary offer, currently standing at 6m per year (for a 8m per year total outlay with the Sporting debt), which if they hadn’t done so before are unlikely do now after “agreeing” to pay the Sporting debt. My point is that the Sporting debt needs to be paid AND the base salary offered needs to be raised, and it is a gap too big to be bridged by Milan.
Just sell this guy to the highest bidder. Easy money.
It’s not like Milan fans care about second star or the 8th champions league trophy.
You are mad
ODLUKA JE NA LEAU !! a ne na Milanu !! Sačekajmo odluku a onda možemo pričat bez NAKLAPANJA