Milan deny Chelsea transfer target with €20m payment

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 7 Apr 2023 12:35 BST
• 3 min read

AC Milan are set to extend Rafa Leao's contract with a €20m down payment which will dash Chelsea's hopes of signing the Portugal winger.

Leao is out of contract at the San Siro in the summer of 2024 and the club have been scrambling to get him to extend with Chelsea and Manchester City among those interested in securing his services.

The Blues even lodged a bid approaching €100 million last summer, but Milan rejected it, with sporting director and club legend Paolo Maldini saying he thought the player's career would be best served by staying in Italy.

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Whilst Milan cannot compete with Chelsea financially - the Rossoneri's highest earner Ismael Bennacer, on €7m a season, would only be Chelsea's 15th best paid player - the Serie A side have an ace in the hole.

Milan to pay Leao's Sporting fine

"Milan will agree to foot the almost €19m that Leao would have had to pay Sporting Lisbon for unilaterally terminating his contract with the club in 2018. Leao would then become one of the best paid in the squad on €5m net per year," report Relevo.

Leao left Sporting after he and other players were attacked by fans at their training ground, before joining Lille on a free transfer. After a single season in France, Milan bought the winger for €30m, and he is now valued at €70m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm.

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Leao has blossomed into one of the most potent players in world football at Milan, and this season has 10 goals and seven assists to his name from 26 games in Serie A, plundered at a rate of one every 113 minutes he has played.

Chelsea may have struggled to find a second move for Leao anyway. The Blues are set for a fire sale this summer as they look to balance the books amid Financial Fair Play concerns, while they reportedly agreed a deal for RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku after being turned down by Milan for Leao.