Rafael Leao’s ASTRONOMICAL release clause

Carlo Garganese

• 16 May 2023 11:53 BST
• 3 min read

Rafael Leao will have an astronomical release clause in his new AC Milan contract.

According to Gianluigi Longari, the minimum fee release clause should be €170 million.

This is an increase of €20m from the €150m release clause in his soon-to-be previous contract.

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The clause will be valid for a two-week window at the start of the summer.

It has been unanimously reported in the Italian media that Leao has agreed a five-year contract with Milan until 2028.

Nicolo Schira reports that Leao will earn a salary of €7 million per season, plus a €2m bonus.

It is expected that the new contract will be officially announced imminently.

Rafa Leao agrees to stay at Milan

The news comes as a relief to Milan fans, who feared losing Leao this summer.

Leao's contract at Milan was due to expire in 2024 and the two parties have been in talks for over a year about a renewal.

The biggest hurdle to overcome for a new contract was that Milan were reluctant to pay for the compensation that Leao owes to former club Sporting Lisbon.

The forward has been ordered to pay Sporting €21.5m (including interest) 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 wanted the club who he signs his new contract with to pay this compensation.

It now seems as if Lille will agree to pay this fine in exchange for a higher sell-on fee in Leao’s contract.

Leao has attracted the interest of a host of top European clubs such as Chelsea, Man Utd and Real Madrid.

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 struggled to hit the same heights but he is still Milan’s star player.

Leao is next in action on Tuesday, hoping to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit to Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-final second leg.