The Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported this Thursday that Milan will formalize next week – Wednesday at the latest – an offer to extend the contract of Rafael Leao, which includes “assistance” in paying the player’s debt to Sporting. According to the Italian, the club wants to keep the Portuguese striker, who was voted the best player in Serie A last season, ahead of the World Cup in Qatar and will offer a five-season contract with a net salary of 5 million euros per season. As an “additional” incentive, the Rossoneri plan to inform the player and his representatives that they are ready to help pay off the debt to Sporting for about half the amount, something like 9 or 10 million euros. The remainder will be paid by the player and Lille, the club where the Portuguese footballer went to play after he unilaterally parted ways with the lions following the invasion of the Academy in Alcochet.
Remember that Lille signed the forward on August 1, 2018, guaranteeing their CEO Mark Ingle at the time that there would be no risk of compensating Sporting CP, who would later (in 2020) see the TAD (Portuguese court) to prove the fact the lions are right. The amount of compensation was set at 16.5 million, but at the moment, including interest for late payment, it already exceeds 20 million.
Despite this decision by TAD, Sporting are still waiting for the decision of the FIFA DRC (House of Dispute Resolution), which will determine the final amount to be paid by the player, after the CAS (Swiss Arbitration Court) returns the case to the DRC. In May, a Milan court confirmed the seizure of 20% of the striker’s salary (300,000 euros per month), rejecting an appeal filed by his lawyers.
