Rumors have risen over the last few weeks about the forward’s future with the club. Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Manchester United have all expressed interest in signing Leão.
While his departure is far from certain, the rumours have generated plenty of excitement from fans across Europe. However, only one club can finish the season with the 25-year-old winger on its roster.
Rafael Leao Off to a Difficult Start with the Struggling Rossoneri
The former Lille player was benched quite a few times by head coach Paulo Fonseca who expects different things from his star winger. But recently, the player has been able to turn things around. Over seven starts, he has three goals and three assists, putting him on track to post double-digit totals in both categories. Unfortunately, his improved play does not translate into winning for AC Milan. The club sits in seventh place in the Serie A table with a record of 5-3-3.
While the season is less than a third of the way through, panic levels have begun to rise among Rossoneri fans. The departure of Olivier Grand, who led the club in goals last season, is having a massive impact. The drop in goalscoring has led sportsbooks across the globe to lower AC Milan’s odds of finishing towards the top of Serie A.
After reviewing the top list of sports betting sites, we found that most have the Rossoneri outside of the top four. Many sportsbooks have Inter, Napoli, Juventus, and Atlanta as the favorites to earn a trip to the Champions League. While those platforms have Milan and Atalanta as neck-and-neck, the gap between the other three is large.
Could AC Milan be open to selling Leao's card?
According to reports, AC Milan could consider letting Rafael Leao go if a big fee arrives, perhaps €80 to €90 million. It should be noted, however, that there is a release clause which is worth around 170 million euros, which surely protects the club's interests in such scenarios.
Manchester United Most Motivated to Get a Deal Done
While PSG and Barcelona have both shown a lot of interest in signing the AC Milan winger, they already sit atop the table of their respective leagues. Leao could help them stay there and gather key wins as he would be a valuable addition.
The same cannot be said of Manchester United, which currently sits 13th in the English Premier League. The club's poor start comes one year after it finished eighth, its worst result in over two decades. That puts the front office in panic mode as they look to stop the team from tumbling down the table.
One of those moves included hiring a new boss, Rúben Amorim, who takes over from Erik Ten Hag. The manager earned the job after helping rebuild Sporting CP in the Primeira Liga.
On top of the club’s obvious need for talent, Manchester United will also be looking to prevent rival Arsenal from acquiring Leao. The London club is in a tight race for the third spot in the EPL table and is in need of another goalscorer. The Portuguese star would fill that need and could drastically change the table by the end of the season.
Lastly, there has been some rumbling that Manchester City could be a surprise contender. That would be the worst case for United, which has fallen far behind its inter-city rival over the last decade.
