In what is now a terribly kept secret, since everyone is talking about it, it’s widely known that Chelsea want Rafael Leão.
Paolo Maldini even publicly revealed that the Blues made an informal offer for the Portuguese, whom Todd Boehly seems desperate to bring to Stamford Bridge going forward.
Milan, down their own end, are trying to tie the forward down to a new contract, knowing full well they have to compete with better finances from foreign clubs.
They have yet to get Leão to put pen to paper, which leaves the door open for Chelsea going forward, who seem to be willing to spend a lot of money to completely revamp their squad.
For Gianluca Di Marzio, who was speaking to Wettfreunde in Germany, the Blues will come back on one condition, and that entirely depends on what Milan do.
He said: “Milan need to extend Leão’s contract as soon as possible. Before the World Cup, because otherwise it’s very dangerous and a risk, as he was and is a goal for Chelsea. Of course, they wanted the player in the last days of August, and they will come back if he doesn’t renew his contract at Milan.
“Milan’s focus at the moment is only on finding an agreement with Leão’s new agent and his lawyer, and they will do their best to extend the contract.”
Di Marzio then explained that Milan will stand firm with their offer, but as shown by the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma or Franck Kessie, they will only keep players who want to play for the club, rather than for money.
That’s why he added: “So if they think Leão’s contract should cost €6m or €6.5m, that’s the price. They won’t give him €10m or €11m for a contract extension, because the philosophy at Milan is not to make exceptions, but to decide what the maximum wage for a player is and that is the offer. If he accepts this offer and agrees, then that’s good. Otherwise, they will end the negotiations.”
This mentality, while admirable, could certainly play in Chelsea’s favour, as, let’s be honest, they will not think twice to offer someone like Leão €10m or so per year if that means securing his services.
