Star winger Rafael Leao has agreed to sign a new five-year contract with Milan, a goal the club have been working towards for more than a year.
The 23-year-old Portuguese forward played a crucial role in the Rossoneri’s Scudetto success last season, scoring 11 goals and providing 10 assists in 34 games, and the club knew that they’d have to tie him down to a new deal quickly to ward off interest from top clubs around Europe, pushing them to start work over a year ago.
Daniele Longo of Calciomercato.com details how Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara worked closely with Leao’s entourage to try and find an agreement, whilst Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani played an important role in the legal dispute between Lille and Sporting CP.
Furlani worked hard to find common ground with Lille, who agreed to pay the €22m fine to Sporting in exchange for a higher future resale clause on Leao, something that was previously just 15%.
Leao’s new contract will officially be announced after the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Inter.
The 23-year-old’s new contract will last until June 2028 and be worth €7m net per season, with an €170m release clause.