Negotiations continue between Milan and Rafael Leao to extend his contract, but there are numerous obstacles, including the fine owed to Sporting CP and the new confusion over who exactly is representing the player.
Leao was named Player of the Season at the Gran Gala Del Calcio on Monday night, the Italian version of the PFA Awards, after already taking the Lega Serie A award for MVP on the way to winning the Scudetto.
The Portugal international was also placed 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings for 2022, further raising the profile that has attracted interest from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.
However, his future with Milan is still very much up in the air and that is because of three main problems with these negotiations.
The first has always been Leao’s salary demands, set at circa €8m per season, whereas Milan are proposing closer to €6m plus add-ons.
That has not changed and the pursuit of a club with far greater funds like Chelsea will only add pressure.
The second problem is that Leao now owes €19.5m to his former club Sporting CP, having lost all the legal battles over breach of contract.
He had walked away in August 2018 as a free agent, claiming an invasion of the training ground by angry fans represented a threat to his safety.
Leao was by no means the only player in that Sporting side to take that action, as several others also terminated their contract unilaterally.
However, he was ordered by the courts to pay €16.5m plus interest, reaching €19.5m, in compensation.
Considering his current salary and negotiating position, Leao hopes that whoever gets his next contract will also promise to pay off the Sporting CP fine for him.
A third issue has emerged over the last couple of days, namely a split between Leao and agent Jorge Mendes.
It was noted that Milan have started talking largely about Leao’s father in these negotiations rather than Mendes and yesterday met with lawyer Ted Dimvula at the club headquarters.
Mendes and Dimvula are currently battling over who is in charge of the talks with Milan or any other club, creating a sense of general confusion and further adding to the uncertainty.
I can’t believe Lille are getting away with not paying anything for signing a player determined to still be under a legal contract. Lille signed him for nothing and made pure profit off his sale to Milan, while Leao and other Sporting players were expected to do… what? Wait around for legal decisions and languish their careers away?
#4 Milan need a bigger budget to keep players like Leao. Slice and dice however you like but that’s where you will end up.
I guess we will see what’s in Redbird’s tank.
The fourth issue is that he still has the potential to tank at any moment. He’s riding a wave. There a games he goes missing but at the moment he produces sparks that have been decisive. I’m not underestimating is importance to date. The question is can he keep this up?
Maldini heir, yes and that’s for young players in general but there’s more chance that Leao will get even better. So Milan better pay now before his profile goes up. And for Bennacer too. Even if the club can’t afford to keep them for long ,must make sure to first have them on longer contracts to be able to get more money !
Maldini’s heir, that complaint of Leao disappearing in some matches is overhyped and played out. It’s normal and happens with every player, especially young player. The difference is that other teams have other players who step up to carry the load when one player is not having a great time, but Milan have nobody. It’s Leao or bust, so when he has a game or moments below his usual standards, everyone whines and points the finger at him. The boy carried Milan on his back to a Scudetto over an entire season to be named Serie A player of the year. What more does he need to do to prove his consistency?