AC Milan’s 25-year-old winger, Rafael Leao, is at something of a crossroads in his career with the Rossoneri. Since joining from Lille in 2019, he has featured 174 times for Milan, scoring 50 goals in the process. After penning a new contract with the club, the Portuguese left-winger said in the New Year that he was keen to remain part of the Rossoneri for “at least one more year”. This comment felt at odds with penning a new long-term deal with the club, calling his commitment into question.
Is Leao on good terms with Paulo Fonseca?
Leao has always been something of a volatile character. He took time to warm to former Milan head coach, Stefano Pioli, while his relationship with current head coach, Paulo Fonseca, is reportedly fraying at the seams too. In fact, Tuttosport believes there is a growing rift between the two individuals, which is not good for the dynamics of the dressing room.
Fonseca’s main ire with Leao has been his inability to improve the defensive side of his game. There’s nothing too much wrong with his attacking output. Aside from Morata, Leao is the second most likely player to finish top goalscorer in the latest Serie A odds. The Portuguese is priced as a 100/1 long-shot, which is no surprise considering he’s only scored three goals in ten appearances, but three goals and three assists makes six goal contributions in ten games.
Although this isn’t anywhere near the level of goals and assists Milan fans have come to expect from Leao in recent seasons, it’s his inability to track back and support his full back which continues to frustrate Fonseca.
It’s got to the point that Leao has been labelled a ‘time bomb’ in the media. During international duty, he told the Portuguese press that he “didn’t like sitting on the bench” and was lukewarm on his relationship with Fonseca.
However, it could become a race to the exit door between both Leao and Fonseca if reports are to be believed. The Rossoneri faithful are said to be disappointed at the team’s inconsistent start to the season, which has left them seven points shy of fourth-placed city rivals Inter. Milan have also flattered to deceive in the Champions League so far this season, requiring an upturn in fortunes to cement a place in the playoff stage for the last 16.
Could Milan’s highest-paid player move on next summer?
While it’s unlikely that the Rossoneri will bomb their highest-paid player – and one of their most productive in recent years – out of the club in January, it seems a departure is not off the table next summer.
Football transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, believes Leao is one of two players on the hit-list of Barcelona next summer. Romano says that AC Milan's 25-year-old and Ghanaian international winger, Inaki Williams, are two “highly appreciated” players among the Barca hierarchy. Indeed, Barca president, Joan Laporta, is said to maintain a ‘preference’ for the Portuguese player's signature next summer.
Although it would be difficult for the Rossoneri faithful to bid farewell to Leao’s services, if his contributions are on the decline and he’s proving a nuisance regarding team chemistry, it’s almost a no-brainer. It becomes all the more intriguing when you consider the likely finances involved in such a transfer. It’s likely Barca would need to pay a minimum of €80m to secure Leao’s signature. The good news for Milan fans is that this player is now fully amortised following his move from Lille. This means that any sale would now be deemed pure profit for Milan’s balance sheet.
It can’t be ignored that Rafa's agent, Jorge Mendes, has close links with Barcelona, who could help make such a deal happen.
French big-spenders, Paris Saint-Germain are also said to have a strong interest in bringing Leao to the Parc des Princes. This would surely be a less attractive deal from a footballing perspective, since La Liga holds a bigger sway than France’s Ligue 1. However, they could hold all the aces in terms of offering the right transfer fee and contract package to get a deal done.
It's very much a case of watch this space, but if Fonseca remains and he needs funds to strengthen next summer, Leao’s exit could fund a large chunk of any rebuild.
