Milan market, Tare’s words on Leao divide fans and ignite debate
The discontents of Rafael Leao are still holding sway at Milan: the Portuguese, who in the space of a few years has gone from MVP of the championship in the Rossoneri’s title-winning season to the first scapegoat of the negative moment experienced this spring, seems to have lost more than one certainty, even with regard to his own stay in Milan. And the words publicly reserved for him by sporting director Igli Tare only further ignited the debate among fans.
“Modric said it too, I repeat it too: Leao has incredible potential, maybe he doesn’t realize it himself,” the Rossoneri executive told ‘Dazn’, dividing Rossoneri fans. On the other hand, the rift with part of the San Siro audience is now hard to ignore: resounding whistles came towards him when he was substituted in the challenge against Udinese, and then again in the match against Juventus, although there was no lack of interventions in his defense.
The Rossoneri number 10, in response to the criticism, chose to make an unusual move, temporarily deactivating his official Instagram profile, a space he often used to celebrate goals or send messages to the Milanese world. A gesture that speaks volumes about the state of mind of a player who has not found the net since March 1 and is approaching the World Cup with more than a weight on his shoulders.
In this scenario, despite Tare’s words, the Milan management seems to have changed course, thinking about Leao’s future. If until a few months ago it considered him one of the few immovable players in the project, today the club would be willing to negotiate his transfer even for a sum not very high by today’s standards, around 50 million. With his contract expiring in 2028, the summer of 2026 is seen as the last useful moment to monetize in a reasonable way, avoiding a further depreciation of the tag.
The end of the season will serve to draw the conclusions in this sense as well: the impression is that Rafael Leao’s stay at AC Milan is by no means to be taken for granted, on the contrary.
