The transfer of Rafael Leao to Galatasaray is done. With one week remaining until the end of the summer transfer window, the Portuguese forward has decided to accept the Turkish club’s huge offer of €12 million per season. Milan have not changed their stance on the player’s sale, who himself, during the World Cup held in the United States, announced that he considered his time with the Rossoneri to be over, after seven seasons in which he recorded a total of 80 goals and 65 assists.
Leao will therefore leave Milan and AC Milan after winning a Scudetto in the 2021/22 season and an Italian Super Cup in January 2025. Having joined from Lille at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, the 1999-born player has been sold for €43 million, with a further €2 million in potential bonuses and a 20% sell-on clause in favour of the Rossoneri should Galatasaray sell him in the future.
But how will this operation affect the club’s accounts?
Milan's Leao capital gain: book value and revenue
Leao’s sale will allow Milan to partially balance the investments made so far to strengthen Amorim’s squad while also providing the Rossoneri with significant savings and avoiding a situation at the end of the 2026/27 season in which they would have to manage a player with just one year remaining on his contract, which was due to expire on 30 June 2028, as pointed out via Calcio e Finanza.
Leao’s historical cost as of 30 June 2025 (the latest official data available) stood at €49.5 million. This figure includes the fine that Milan paid on the player’s behalf to settle an old dispute between him and Sporting Lisbon. His residual book value on the same date was €16.8 million, a figure that had fallen to €11.2 million by 30 June 2026.
With €43 million received from the sale, AC Milan’s capital gain will therefore amount to €31.8 million. But that is not all: the positive financial impact of the transfer will also increase thanks to the costs Milan will no longer have to bear for the forward: more than €12.1 million during the 2025/26 season, including his gross salary and amortisation charge. This is the amount the Rossoneri will save in the 2026/27 financial year, to be added to the capital gain mentioned above.
Overall, the permanent transfer (pending confirmation of the official transfer figures) will have a positive financial impact of €43.9 million on the financial year that began on 1 July 2026.
