Rafael Leao: The Milan contract offer Chelsea and Man City must match
Robin Bairner
- 29 Sept 2022 14:05 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea and Manchester City are both credited with a strong interest in Milan attacker Rafael Leao, but the forward is soon set to be rewarded for his fine form with a new contract at San Siro.
Since joining Milan from Lille in 2019 for a fee of €29.5 million, Leao has developed into a key player who help the Rossoneri win Serie A last season.
That fact has not gone unmissed at the two Premier League giants, both of whom could use some more artillery in their squad. Chelsea, in particular, are crying out for more offensive power in their team.
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Signing Leao, though, promises to be a complicated operation. The Blues made an offer for him last summer but saw it rebuffed by Milan, where the forward is under contract until 2024 and, therefore, relatively secure until next summer at least.
If no new deal is agreed before then, though, Milan may be forced to sell, having been stung by the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma and Franck Kessie departing the club as free agents in recent years.
One of the challenges that the Italian side face, though, is giving Leao a wage that can compete with the Premier League sides. Tuttosport reports that Milan have made him an offer of €6m per season that could ultimately rise to €7m if bonuses are met.
Rafael Leao's wages very attainable
Such a figure is unlikely to deter a Premier League side from attempting to snap up a player that they rate highly. Leao has scored 17 goals and created 18 more since the beginning of the 2021/22 season, and aged just 23, these elite clubs will believe there is more to come from him.
For Chelsea, a wage of €7m per year corresponds to the average squad player. Callum Hudson-Odoi, for example, reputedly earns a little over that figure.
This helps to highlight the spending power of the Premier League clubs and shows why both Chelsea and Manchester City hold high hopes of being able to sign Leao, if not in January, then potentially in summer 2023.
