Report: Leonardo had plan in place to sign Barella for €40m

By Oliver Fisher -

Former Milan sporting director Leonardo came up with a plan to snatch Nicolo Barella from under Inter’s noses before he left, a report claims.

The Rossoneri were linked with a number of midfielders over the summer, and one name who popped up on multiple occasions early in the transfer window was that of Barella.

Sky Italia (as cited by tribuna) even went as far as to report that Milan had opened talks with Cagliari over the Italy international and were frontrunners in the race.

Reports from SportMediaset then claimed that Milan were preparing a swap deal for Barella involving Patrick Cutrone (plus cash) – though the latter eventually moved to Wolves and the former joined Inter.

According to a report on FcInterNews.it, former Rossoneri sporting director Leonardo had already drawn up a plan to try and sign the 22-year-old.

The Brazilian wanted to sell Franck Kessie and Hakan Calhanoglu in order to fund a €40m offer Barella, however he ended up leaving at the end of the season and returning to PSG, seemingly aborting Milan’s mission.


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Tags AC Milan Franck Kessie Hakan Calhanoglu Nicolò Barella
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