Paolo Maldini believes Rafael Leao should extend his contract with Milan, but will the Portuguese star follow the advice from the Rossoneri legend?
The former Lille and Sporting CP starlet has scored three goals and delivered five assists in eight games across all competitions this season. He contributed to Alexis Saelemaeker’s strike in a 3-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb yesterday, helping Milan win their first home Champions League game since 2013.
Leao’s contract runs out in June 2024 and the Rossoneri began negotiations to extend his stay a long time ago, as confirmed by club director Paolo Maldini on Wednesday.
The legendary defender believes Leao should remain at the club to develop further. “He knows that the ideal solution to become even stronger is to remain with us,” Maldini said last night, as quoted by Milannews.
“We want to make big things and grow with him.”
Leao currently gets €1.5m per season at San Siro, and Milan are ready to offer him a new €4.5m-a-year contract.
It remains to be seen if that would be enough for the striker and his agent Jorge Mendes bearing in mind that Leao has been ordered to pay circa €16m to his former club Sporting CP after the unilateral termination of his contract in 2018.
The 23-year-old has a €150m clause included in his contract, which is not valid in the final weeks of the summer transfer window.
As more time pas.ses, I’m becoming less and less confident over a new deal. He’s getting better and more influential each match. Top clubs will circle like vultures over a player who can decide almost every game on his own, or at least make one or two goal contributions, and is on his final 18 months of his contract.
They will offer him crazy money and money talks. Mendes will surely try to take him away. Only thing we can hope for is Redbird and whether they want to make a statement with his renewal.
He also earned the penalty for first goal .
influential is the only way to describe him. Not sure I would trade him for anyone at this point.
Redbird needs to step up and show their true intensions here !
Agree with both of you. He really is proving to be the difference maker. There’s a number of games I don’t think we’d have won without him. He’s huge.
If RedBird F this up then it proves that they’re useless and incompetent owners. Who in their right mind (aside from Elliott) would want to let their top stars walk away for free? Seriously
Its not about wanting top players to walk away, its about having the balls to not be held to ransom by them, and more specifially, their agents.
Mere speculation. Editor not even aware of Mednez is no Leao agent
I agree and understand no-one is bigger than club, but if we continue to do this and allow players to walk way, the club will not benefit from a financial point of view, it’s either get them to renew or sell up before it’s too late and to at least make some sort of money off the sale of the player.
If he does go, I hope it’s for a ludicrous sum of money.
If we are getting 120M from him, I am ok. This is a crossroads for REDBIRD. Paying him would signal that Milan is seriously trying to win another UCL. Selling means we have become the Italian Dortmund.
Ball is in Cardinale’s court.
@RossoNero83
Agree completely with you there. If he hasn’t extended by December put the wheels in motion and get him out by next summer for a huge transfer fee.
He deserves more money than this offer, that’s the same as what giroud and origi are on! Hopefully they can agree on a renewal, cos he won’t be easily replaced.