Reports: The ‘final crossroads’ – Leao to make Aston Villa vs. Galatasaray decision today
Rafael Leao will not be involved in AC Milan’s home opener against Venezia tonight, with his exit seemingly imminent.
MilanNews report that Leao’s future has reached a ‘final crossroads’. Aston Villa and Galatasaray continue to compete for the Portuguese , but the feeling is that the English club are now slightly ahead in the player’s preferences, as he has never hidden his desire to play in the Premier League.
Leao dreams of moving abroad and greatly appreciates the esteem of Unai Emery, who contacted him personally yesterday. On the other hand, Galatasaray remain very strong from a financial standpoint, with their offer of €12m net per season in salary.
A decision is coming
Aston Villa offered a salary of around €7.5m net per season, which is not at the level of their competitors. As for the transfer fee, both clubs came close to matching Milan’s asking price of around €50m overall.
Galatasaray made an offer of €45m plus €5m in bonuses, while Villa gradually raised their offer, approaching the same figure as the Turkish giants. For Milan, therefore, the strategy of not lowering the price has ultimately borne fruit.
Meanwhile, Matteo Moretto and Fabrizio Romano spoke about the issue in a YouTube video uploaded last night, with their comments relayed by MilanNews.
Romano: “We are living in Rafael Leao’s hours. Because while yesterday was a day of frenetic contacts for the basis of an agreement with Galatasaray, on the club side, now the game is being played in Leao’s court.
“It’s Rafa’s time, he has to figure out what he wants to do with his career, whether to proceed by signing with Galatasaray for a very high salary or whether he will prefer the Premier League. The ball is completely in Rafael Leao’s court. It will be a day of meetings with his entourage, his family…”
Moretto: “Exactly. There will be contact between Leao’s entourage, Aston Villa, and Galatasaray. So we’ll see how it all plays out in the next few hours, meaning a conclusion will be reached between today and tomorrow.”
Even on a technical level, the separation between Milan and Leao now appears imminent. Ruben Amorim admitted that Leao isn’t ready to be called up and hinted that, at times, a change of scenery might be the best solution.
The Portuguese’s Milan career thus risks coming to an end after 291 appearances and 80 goals, a starring role in the Scudetto, a Champions League semi-final, and an Italian Super Cup. Now, only the final choice remains: Birmingham or Istanbul?
