The future of Portugal's Rafael Leao has turned from an anticipated major transfer into a heavy burden on Milan, after the club decided to shockingly lower its financial demands and open the door to his departure for less than half of his release clause.
The network "Football Italia" revealed that Milan's new coach Ruben Amorim isn't fully convinced by the Portuguese star, and has placed him among the players who could be sold this summer should a suitable offer arrive.
Leao, 27, told Milan's management at the end of the 2025-2026 season that he wanted a fresh challenge outside Italy, favouring a move to England or Spain. With only two years left on his deal, the club realised this summer may be its last chance to bank a fee before he enters his final year and his value drops further.
No official offer from England or Spain has arrived yet. With only two weeks left before the market closes, his fate remains up in the air.
According to "Sky Sport Italia", Amorim has drawn up a list of departure candidates that includes Christopher Nkunku, Fikayo Tomori, Youssouf Fofana and David Odogu, with Leao, Santiago Gimenez and Pervis Estupinan also potentially on their way out.
The network confirmed that Amorim has no objection to Leao staying for the 2026-2027 season, but won't stand in the way of a sale if the right conditions are met.
From 175 to 40 million euros
The biggest shock came in the developments over the player's price. Milan initially demanded 60 million euros, then lowered their expectations to between 50 and 60 million. Friday's report revealed that the management is now ready to listen to offers of just 40 to 45 million euros, a huge collapse compared to the 175 million euro release clause the club set at his last contract renewal.
To complicate matters further, Leao has suffered a muscle tear that will rule him out of Saturday's friendly against Manchester United and threatens his availability for the Serie A opener against Torino next Sunday.