Milan are still working on tying down star forward Rafael Leao to a new contract and a key element in the talks is his debt to Sporting CP.
The Portuguese forward is a product of Sporting’s youth system and broke into their first team in the 2017-18 season, quickly making a name for himself. Whilst injuries limited his opportunities that campaign, a goal in a 2-1 loss to Porto saw him attract attention from across Europe.
At the end of that season, Gianluca Di Marzio recounts, Sporting failed to qualify for the Champions League, infuriating their supporters. Around 50 hooded ultras broke into their training centre and allegedly attacked the coach Jorge Jesus, his staff and the first team. Leao, like many of his teammates, unilaterally terminated his contract with Sporting after this incident.
Lille took advantage of the situation and snapped him up on a free transfer. A year later, he was sold to Milan for around €30m.
Sporting were furious with the situation and took their former players to court. The Court of Arbitration sided with the Portuguese outfit and ruled that Leao would have to pay the club €16.5m for his conduct. The winger attempted to appeal but this was denied, upholding the original verdict.
This debt with Sporting has become an important factor in contract renewal talks, with Leao hoping to have some assistance from the club in paying off that fee. He’s been offered a lucrative contract by the Rossoneri, around €6m net per season, and currently seems set to pen the deal.
Milan have already paid around 30m for him, which is A LOT of money. Surely either Lille or Leao or the combination of those two should pay the fine, but it looks like we’re caught in a corner while trying to renew a contract once again!