Zlatan Ibrahimovic has joked that he could offer Rafael Leao his house in order to convince the Arsenal target to rebuff Premier League offers and sign a new deal at Serie A champions AC Milan, speaking to DAZN.
Anyone who tuned into the recent Champions League last-16 clash between the Rossoneri and Tottenham Hotspur at the San Siro must have been wondering what all the fuss was about.
Is this the Leao everyone is hailing as the future of Portuguese football? The guy who has just launched a 25-yard shot into orbit, almost marked out of the game by Emerson Royal on his own turf?
This, at least, was more like it. Leao back to something approaching his bludgeoning best as Milan swept Atalanta aside on Sunday, the former Sporting Lisbon whizzkid silencing the noise and putting all the uncertainty over his future to the background while setting up Junior Messias’ clincher with a beautifully-weighted 85th minute through ball.
Could Arsenal snatch Rafael Leao from AC Milan?
Leao’s contract expires in the summer of 2024. Milan are struggling to reach an agreement and, as Hakan Calhanoglu, Franck Kessie and Gianluigi Donnarumma discovered, the seven-time European champions will not break the bank for anyone. Not even for their most integral, most high-profile performers.
Ibrahimovic, making his long-awaited return to action this weekend, jokingly claims to have made his fair share of sacrifices in order to free up funds for Leao’s new deal. Leao, the veteran Swede quips, could even take up rent-free residency in his Milanese mansion if it means committing his future to the Scudetto holders.
“I lowered my salary for him, I’m playing for free,” Ibrahimovic smiles. “Does he also want my house?”
According to Dean Jones, Arsenal and Chelsea are preparing to test the waters. Milan currently have no intention of meeting Leao’s demands, while the jet-heeled wideman wants to reduce his release clause from £130 million to around £70 million (TMW).
Do not count Tottenham Hotspur out of the equation either. Spurs, The Times say, are looking for replacements for the now-30-year-old Heung Min Son.
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