Chelsea have made ‘guarantees’ to AC Milan forward Rafa Leao over fines he may be partly responsible to pay to Sporting Club de Portugal.
That’s according to La Stampa, relayed by Tuttomercatoweb, who say the Blues have made ‘specific guarantees’ to the player should he move to Stamford Bridge.
The newspaper explains that Leao wants to remain at Milan moving forwards, with his agent recently stating that “he wants to stay at AC Milan, he loves the club and the city”.
Those comments came amid ‘difficulties’ in reaching an agreement with Milan over a new contract, which is currently being held up by two key points.
That is in relation to his move to the French club, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport deciding in March 2020 that the player and his club owed the Portuguese club after Leao unilaterally ended his contract with them after a training ground incident involving fans.
He left for France on a free transfer as a result but Sporting took the case to CAS and were awarded €18m after initially asking for €45m. Leao also has to pay and, it seems, wants AC Milan to help with that.
They are so far refusing to do so and that’s led to the halt in any possible renewal, something Chelsea want to take advantage of.
They’ve been interested since the summer and La Stampa say that remains the case despite their splurge on forward players.
They have also ‘given specific guarantees’ to the player regarding that fine, which we’re reading as them being willing to help him pay it, as he wants Milan to do.
It’s a situation to keep an eye on regardless, with the interest from Chelsea certainly still there and their assurances opening the door to a possible transfer.
