Portuguese Star Rafael Leao Inks New Deal With AC Milan

Rafael Leao has inked a new deal with AC Milan, the club just announced on its official website.

“AC Milan is pleased to announce that Rafael Alexandre da Conceição Leão has renewed his contract with the Club until 30 June 2028,” reads the note.

The new contract, which comes after months of difficult negotiations, binds the Portuguese international to AC Milan until 2028.

Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport reveals that Leao is set to collect a €5 million base salary with performance-based bonuses that will be triggered throughout the year, and not just at the end of the season, as it normally happens.

This means that Leao is projected to pocket about €6 million to €7 million per season for the next five years, turning him into the highest-paid player on AC Milan’s roster.

What’s more, Leao’s contract includes a €175 million release clause that can be activated by rival clubs only during the summer transfer windows.

Leao’s contract extension feels like a relief to the Rossoneri fans, who began to fear that another talented player would leave AC Milan for free.

In the past two years, the list of prominent footballers that ran out of contract with AC Milan features UEFA Euro 2020 champion Gianluigi Donnarumma, Turkey international Hakan Calhanoglu and Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie, all of whom bade farewell to the club as free agents.

Negotiations for Leao’s deal were especially complicated because of the involvement of two other clubs, namely Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon and France’s Lille.

The dispute, which would later be resolved thanks to AC Milan’s urgent need to finalize Leao’s extension, revolved around a fine that both Leao and Lille owed to Sporting Lisbon after the player unilaterally terminated his contract with the Portuguese club back in 2018.

Leao, who is about to turn 24, has been AC Milan’s most decisive man in the last few seasons.

In the 2021/22 successful campaign that ended with the club clinching its first Scudetto in 11 years, the pacey winger was awarded the Serie A Most Valuable Player thanks to a double-double in goals (11) and assists (10). His remarkable performances also earned him a spot in the prestigious 30-man shortlist for the Ballon D’Or.

This year, Leao proved all his value even on the international stage, leading AC Milan to its first UEFA Champions League semifinal since 2007.

Perhaps the most notable play of the season was his solo, breathtaking effort at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona during the return leg of the quarterfinal tie against Napoli. On that occasion, Leao dribbled through Napoli’s entire defense, covering 70 yards of grass at full speed and eventually serving a perfect assist to Olivier Giroud, who scored the goal that qualified AC Milan to the next stage.

The new deal at AC Milan might come with some changes for Leao, who has been thinking of wearing a different number on the back of his red-and-black jersey.

After three seasons featuring #17, Leao might opt for #7 or #10, which in the past have been worn by iconic footballers like Andriy Shevchenko, Gianni Rivera and Manuel Rui Costa.

The next five years will tell us if Leao has what it takes to be compared to those club legends.