Rafael Leao to Chelsea or Man City: The latest

FT Desk

27 Sept 2022 18:16 BST
3 min read

Rafael Leao, Milan, 2021/22 — © ProShots

Rafael Leao has attracted interest from Chelsea, Manchester City and beyond after his blistering form for AC Milan. What is the latest on the Portuguese prodigy?

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Leao arrived at Milan from Lille in a €35 million deal in 2019, but he really shot to prominence last season when his 11 goals and 10 assists in 34 Serie A games helped fire the Rossoneri to their 19th Scudetto.

Understandably, Milan want to tie him down beyond his current deal at San Siro, which runs until 30 June 2024.

AC Milan have rejected a €100m offer from Chelsea for Rafael Leao, according to as 🤯#DeadlineDay ⏰ pic.twitter.com/j7tF3omDwz
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) September 1, 2022

"Rafael's grateful to us and I listen to what he tells us," Milan sporting director Paolo Maldini told Gazzetta dello Sport recently. "He understands that his path over the next few years must be at Milan, and we know we must pay top players their value."

There could be a potential hiccup in Milan's negotiations, though. Agreeing to a 20 per cent sell-on clause was one thing for the Rossoneri to swallow when they signed him from Lille, but the idea that they should stump up some of the €19m Leao reportedly owes former club Sporting Lisbon is another matter.

Sporting complications

Leao joined Lille in 2018 after terminating his contract with first club Sporting, and is now locked in a legal battle with them with his career, and therefore the value attached to it, taking off since.

Milan are otherwise ready to meet Leao's salary demands of €7m a season, and Maldini is aware that Premier League clubs could come in and blow his negotiations out of the water.

"We'll do nothing that's not within our financial means," he said. " The team that's last in the Premier League has a higher budget than hours, but we have history and more ideas."

Chelsea had a €120m bid for Leao turned down in August, while Corriere dello Sport report that Manchester City are now also monitoring his situation.