Milan collapse, San Siro can’t take it anymore: all challenged, Rafa Leao in the crosshairs

Milan was disconcerting at the San Siro, where it put up a performance to forget against Atalanta on Sunday in a match with capital weight for the Champions League conquest. Even in the pre-match match analysts and managers (including Igli Tare) had framed the challenge against the Bergamaschi as one of the crossroads of the season, but after conceding two goals in less than half an hour and the third before the hour of play, the already furious Meazza stadium targeted team and club with shouts, whistles and chants. In addition to Giorgio Furlani, the public enemy number one in the Curva Sud turned out to be the still extremely disappointing Rafa Leao.

The mood was clear even before the kickoff whistle, with an eloquent message displayed in the stands: the Rossoneri fans present in the Curva Sud in fact formed with their bodies the inscription “GF OUT,” obviously aimed at Furlani. “Redo everything from scratch, give Milan back to us,” a banner read instead. Unrepeatable choruses erupted after Zappacosta’s goal, Atalanta’s double that followed Ederson’s mark. Then, moments after Raspadori’s tic-tac-toe, the Meneghini supporters demolished with whistles Leao replaced by Fofana. The Portuguese, protagonist of some serious errors under the goal and also appeared unhappy with Massimiliano Allegri’s decision, had moreover been cautioned at 34′ for a foul on Scalvini: warned, he will miss Genoa.

It is not, after all, a novelty for Leao, who during this spring has already collected resounding whistles at the moment of substitution in the challenges against Udinese and Juventus. An increasingly frayed relationship with the square had already manifested itself when the Portuguese chose to temporarily deactivate his official Instagram profile in response to criticism, at a time when he had not found the net in over two months. The feeling, now difficult to ignore, is that of a player who has lost the thread with the environment and with himself.

The defeat against Atalanta risks having heavy consequences on the technical front as well. According to reports from the ‘Corriere dello Sport’, the Rossoneri management has already identified Vincenzo Italiano as the possible successor to Allegri in case of a change on the bench: the coach would also bring with him a tactical revolution, with the abandonment of the 3-5-2 and the return to a 4-2-3-1. Further complicating the picture are the sirens of the national team: Allegri’s name has been circulating insistently for the Azzurri bench, which remained vacant after Gattuso’s resignation following the dramatic playoff elimination against Bosnia, which excluded Italy from the 2026 World Cup for the third consecutive time. The Leghorn coach’s contract provides for an automatic renewal until 2028 in the event of Champions League qualification, but the largely faltering results of the past two months — just two wins in the last seven league games — have fueled doubts about his future.

On the market, meanwhile, the San Siro debacle looks set to accelerate the reflections already underway on Leao’s future. The Rossoneri management, despite having a 170 million rescission clause that is now off the market, would be willing to negotiate his sale for a figure around 50 million, considering the summer of 2026 the last useful moment to monetize in a reasonable way with his contract expiring in 2028. In the background, Manchester United is moving insistently, with contacts between the Red Devils and the player’s entourage reportedly intensifying in recent weeks, while Manchester City and Liverpool are also closely watching the evolution of the affair.

To fill the void that could open up in attack, the profile that most convinces the management is that of Gabriel Jesus, 29, who is back from a positive second half of the season at Arsenal after a long stop due to a knee injury. The Brazilian, who has been relegated to a marginal role by the Gunners with the rise of Gyökeres, has a contract expiring in 2027 and could represent a market opportunity: the tag is valued at around 20 million euros, although the knot of the salary – 16 million gross – remains to be unraveled. Facilitating the negotiations is a non-negligible detail: Jesus is assisted by the agency of Giovanni Branchini, the same agent who was decisive for Allegri’s return to the Milan bench. An offensive revolution that would also concern Fullkrug, who will not be redeemed, and Santiago Gimenez, whose permanence will depend on the post-injury evaluation. A sign of continuity, in a context of profound change, could instead come from Luka Modric, who is reportedly considering staying at the Rossoneri next season after the World Cup with Croatia.