Champions League winners Real Madrid might need to be wary of Manchester City in the race to sign Rafael Leao, with the Citizens keen on signing the AC Milan star.
According to French journalist Santi Aouna, Manchester City are among several clubs interested in signing AC Milan’s explosive striker Rafael Leao and have already initiated contact with his agent, Jorge Mendes, a few weeks ago, putting them in serious contention to secure the 22-year-old attacking sensation’s services.
Regarded as one of the hottest attacking prospects in Europe, Leao is finally living up to his immense potential after two seasons of adaptation at San Siro. After joining from LOSC Lille for €24 million in 2019 as a teenage prodigy, he was described as a maverick winger missing end-product in past seasons, but Leao truly came to the fore this past season for AC Milan.
Not only has the 22-year-old established himself as an important first-team regular for the Rossoneri, contributing with 14 goals and 12 assists in 42 outings across all competitions, but his stellar performances and crucial goals were one of the major driving forces behind AC Milan’s Scudetto triumph, earning him the league’s player of the season in the process.
Needless to say, Leao’s red-hot form means a whole host of European elites have identified him as a potential summer target, with the most concrete interest seemingly being shown in him by Real Madrid and Manchester City, who seem to have established contact with his agent, Jorge Mendes.
Leao’s current deal at San Siro expires in 2024. Milan are determined to keep their prized attacker and have proposed a new, improved contract. But there is no guarantee that Milan will be able to keep the winger beyond this summer and may be forced to cash in if a massive bid from a European giant arrives.
After putting all of their eggs in the Kylian Mbappe basket for the last couple of seasons, Real Madrid seem to have switched their focus to Rafael Leao now that the Mbappe transfer opera is over. The 2021/22 Champions League winners are hot on Leao’s heels, with reports circulating that they could launch an alluring €120 million bid to capture the Portugal international.
Manchester City, meanwhile, are looking to steal a march on Real Madrid for Leao, having already started talks with his representatives, as they view him as an ideal replacement for English winger Raheem Sterling, who could be on his way out of the Etihad Stadium.
While Gabriel Jesus’ impending exit from the Etihad Stadium this summer has grabbed the headlines in the last couple of weeks, the situation with the likes of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez has gone under the radar, with the duo’s current deals running out in the summer of 2023.
The Citizens will soon welcome Erling Haaland as their primary centre-forward while loanee Julian Alvarez is also waiting in the wings to impress and force his way into Pep Guardiola’s long-term plans. But it would not be a surprise to see a talented winger like Leao arrive at the club should either Sterling or Mahrez leave Manchester City in the next few months as their contract statuses are yet to be resolved.
