AC Milan has secured a new deal with their Portuguese forward Rafael Leao, which will see the player remain at San Siro until 2028.
The prolific 23-year-old’s current contract expires next summer, making him a key target for clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. Chelsea has supposedly failed with two bids already. Without a new contract, Leao will be entering the final year of his agreement with the Italian club, forcing them to either sell him cheap or let him go on a free transfer in summer of 2024.
Hence, AC Milan needed to step up their game in solving the contract situation. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, club directors Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara contributed a significant amount of time behind the deal, and both sides have finally reached an agreement.
This new deal will earn Rafael a humongous salary of €7 million per season, on top of a €2 million signing bonus. Milan has set a new release clause of €170 million per the new contract, which is higher than the previous contract’s release clause of €150 million. Similar to the current provision, its applicability is likely to be limited to the brief summer season (typically July 1-15).
Rafael Leao has been key to Milan’s success
Rafael Leao has been a strong performer for AC Milan in recent years. His performances were crucial to Milan’s Scudetto victory in the 2021-2022 season.
Leao is performing exceptionally well this season as well, with 13 goals and an equal amount of assists in 44 games across all competitions. He has led the Milan side to their first UEFA Champions League semi-final in 16 years.
Unfortunately, Rafael Leao was absent from Milan’s semi-final first leg against arch-rivals Inter Milan due to a strained muscle, and his side suffered a 0-2 loss on home ground.
However, the 23-year-old attacker will probably be available for the second leg. AC Milan could surely use his help to come back from the brink and play in the UCL final for the first time since 2007.
