Rafael Leao has told AC Milan he wants to leave the club this summer amid links with Bayern Munich.
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Leao informs Milan his plansBayern eyeing a left wingerMultiple options under considerationFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
's Florian Plettenberg notes that Leao has informed Milan of his desire to leave the club. The Rossoneri don't appear opposed to letting him go, but are said to be demanding at least €70 million (£59m/$80m) in guaranteed money before add-ons.
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Leao may have reached what he sees as the end of the road at Milan, having spent the last six years at San Siro. They slipped backwards in 2024-25, dropping from a second place finish in Serie A the previous campaign, down to eighth – that means no Champions League football, or European football of any kind next season.
Bayern would be an obvious upward move in that respect and Plettenberg adds that the Munich giants do have an interest. Phone calls are said to have taken place, although nothing formal or concrete as yet, with Bayern not actually preparing an offer at this time.
DID YOU KNOW?
Leao spent a decade at Sporting CP from the age of nine. But his time at his boyhood team ended suddenly after just four first-team appearances in 2018. He was one of several players who unilaterally terminated their contracts with the club in the wake of an angry mob storming the training ground. Future Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was another, but he was persuaded to reverse that decision.
AFPWHAT NEXT?
Bayern need to make a decision on their recruitment plans. The left flank will be severely weakened when Leroy Sane's contract expires and Kingsley Coman moves on, as expected. But Leao is only one of several options under consideration, with Bayern also linked with Liverpool's Cody Gakpo.
