Moretto: Galatasaray ‘not even close’ to Milan’s Leao demands – Aston Villa still an option

Matteo Moretto has claimed that Galatasaray are ‘not even close’ to matching AC Milan’s demands for Rafael Leao.

This morning, reports suggested that Galatasaray were preparing a new bid for Leao that would be worth €50m or more, after having a first offer rejected. That came after various sources spoke of Aston Villa and then Tottenham entering the running for the Portuguese winger.

Galatasaray ‘not even close’

While the Leao soap opera rumbles on, Matteo Moretto spoke about the future of Leao in a video posted on Fabrizio Romano’s YouTube channel, suggesting that there is nothing imminent with any of the teams linked.

“I think we’ll be talking about Leao until the end of the summer transfer window. We need to figure out who will meet Milan’s demands, which continue to be €50-60 million, including bonuses, and we also need to figure out what project, especially financial, will convince Leao.

“Right now, Galatasaray is the club offering the player the most in terms of salary, but the Turkish club are not even close to Milan’s demands.

“Aston Villa, thanks in part to the work of Jorge Mendes, needs to figure out if they can meet both Milan’s and Leao’s demands financially. Not at the moment, we’ll see if anything changes in the coming days.”

As the days tick by, it looks more and more likely that the magical formula of finding a club willing to pay the fee and salary will never occur, and that the former Lille star will be left in the rather awkward situation of having to stay.