Romano: Milan to put faith in €28m man despite Premier League interest and off-field issue

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan are ready to bet on Rafael Leao again and hope that he begins to show why they invested in him last summer, a report claims.

According to Fabrizio Romano’s latest for Calciomercato, Leao has become an important consideration for Milan.

He was the subject of a strong investment made by owners Elliott last summer (widely reported to be €28m plus bonuses), and so far his ability has not been showcased in anything other than glimpses.

Regardless of the technical choices for the next year, Milan are convinced to retain Leao even in the face of calls from Premier League clubs to his entourage in the early months of 2020. There is no intention to sell him, but on the contrary to see him explode like the club believe he will.

There is also the question related to the TAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) sentence that condemns Leao to the payment of €16.5million to former club Sporting CP, from whom he freed himself from his contract in 2018 before signing with Lille due to violence from club supporters.

In Portugal it has been written that Jorge Mendes would like to involve Milan in paying part of this amount to support Leao, but Romano claims that the Rossoneri have nothing to do with the affair and has already invested economically on Leao in both transfer fee and salary.

Therefore, everyone’s hope is that the annulment of the sentence may be the end of the story after Mendes’ counter-move, and that Leao can move on with his time at Milan with a clear head.

Tags AC Milan Rafael Leao
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