Chelsea made a late attempt to sign Rafael Leao, but Milan quickly rebuffed it. They are now focusing on extending his contract, as the negotiation has been going on for a while. Director Paolo Maldini corroborated the buzz to SportMediaset before the win over Dinamo Zagreb.
“He knows that he has to stay with us to become even stronger. We have started tackling the matter a few months ago. We are a young team on the rise. He still has a lot to learn. Then, if he reaches a level that is superior to us, it would be normal for him to take flight. We aim to achieve great things and improve along with him. We received an informal offer from the Blues, not a written one. Naturally, it was rejected.”
As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, Chelsea had proposed €80/90M for Leao, but it was too late in the window, and Milan were no longer interested in Hakim Ziyech at that point. Moreover, their valuation was higher. The legendary defender also spoke to Sky Sport.
“We have begun discussing the new contracts of Rafa, Ismael Bennacer and Pierre Kalulu. The negotiations can either be easy or complicated: their intentions play a major role, because the club is willing to strike a deal.”
Maldini anticipates a larger budget following the ownership change.
“We will not spend more than we can afford, but we will have more resources to invest since the earnings will increase. Then it’s clear that we need much more to compete for the Champions League. Almost all the sides that advanced past the group stage last season had higher revenues than us.”
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