Milan forward Rafael Leao has asked for a major wage increase in contract renewal talks with technical and sporting directors Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara.
According to reports in Gazzetta dello Sport, Leao has asked for an annual salary of €7.5m per season with a signing-on bonus of around €2m.
The requested terms would see an increase in annual earnings of over €5m given that Leao currently takes home roughly €1.8m per season.
La Gazzetta claims that Maldini and Massara conducted recent discussions with Leao and his family, although have not been in direct contact with the player’s agent.
Leao’s current deal is set to expire at the end of 2023-24 and discussions regarding a new contract have already been underway since the start of the year.
A potential stumbling block in the negotiations is the requested lowering of Leao’s release clause, which currently stands at €150m, active for a few weeks in the summer.
Reports in January claimed that Leao’s representatives have requested that figure be lowered to €80m, which would make a move away from San Siro much more realistic for the Portuguese international.
Rumours of Premier League interest have been widely circulated over the most recent transfer windows, with Chelsea and Manchester City among the names hopeful of landing Leao’s signature.