Milan slap €100m price tag on Chelsea and Man Utd-target Rafa Leao

Carlo Garganese

• 15 Feb 2023 09:00 GMT
• 3 min read

AC Milan will not sell Rafa Leao for less than €100 million this summer, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

A host of top European clubs, led by Chelsea and Manchester United, are interested in signing the Portuguese attacker at the end of the season.

However, Gazzetta reports that they will have to pay a three-figure sum to have any chance of getting their man.

READ MORE: €600m is not enough! Chelsea want Bellingham

Milan do not want to sell Leao and want to build their team around him in the next few years.

However, the Rossoneri are struggling to make much headway during negotiations over a new contract.

Leao’s contract at San Siro expires in 2024, meaning Milan will be forced to sell him this summer if they cannot agree a new deal in the coming months.

Rafa Leao contract problems

Leao and Milan have been in talks since last summer to extend but hope is now starting to run out at San Siro in convincing the 23-year-old to stay.

There are two major reasons for this. The first is salary. Leao has been requesting €8m per season, while Milan are not prepared to go any higher than €6.5m in total.

Secondly, Milan are refusing to pay for the compensation that Leao owes to former club Sporting Lisbon.

The forward has been ordered to pay Sporting €19.5m after losing a court case over breach of contract.

Leao walked away from Sporting as a free agent in 2018 after the club’s training ground was invaded by fans, claiming it threatened his safety as an employee.

But Leao lost the legal case and he wants the club who he signs his new contract with to pay this compensation.

Leao was Milan’s key player as they won their first Serie A title in 11 years last season. He was named Serie A Player of the Year, scoring 14 goals and grabbing 12 assists in all competitions.

This term he has been dogged by inconsistency, with questions raised over his motivation as Milan have struggled badly to retain their title. They are currently third, 18 points behind leaders Napoli.

Leao had an improved performance on Tuesday during the 1-0 win over Tottenham in the Champions League but is still far below the levels showed last season.