Amorim Maintains Firm Stance on Leao as AC Milan Arrives in Australia
AC Milan’s pre-season has crossed hemispheres, but the biggest question around the club refuses to stay on the ground in Italy.
As the Rossoneri touched down in Perth for the second leg of their summer tour, the focus should have been on fitness, shape, and a low-key, behind-closed-doors friendly against Perth Glory. Instead, all roads lead back to one name: Rafael Leao.
The winger is due to join up with the squad in Australia after his World Cup exertions, walking straight into the eye of a transfer storm. Fenerbahce have stepped up aggressively, reportedly tabling an official bid and even dispatching director Cihan Kamer to Italy to thrash out terms. The Turkish club sense an opening. Milan, publicly at least, are slamming it shut.
Amorim: “The team comes first”
In Perth, Ruben Amorim cut a calm but uncompromising figure. The former Manchester United boss knows the noise around his star players will not fade any time soon, but he showed little appetite for drama.
“He is our player until anything changes, the team comes first,” Amorim said, as quoted by Gianluca Di Marzio. “It is not too complicated, for me the team is the most important thing.
“I will speak with Rafael, with [Goncalo] Ramos, with [Alexis] Saelemaekers, with all the players returning from the World Cup to explain what we will do. I know there is a lot of speculation about some of our players, but they remain ours until anything changes.”
That is the line: Milan will not be rushed, and no individual—however decisive on the pitch—will be allowed to dictate the rhythm of the summer.
Fenerbahce push, Milan hold
Behind the scenes, the numbers tell their own story.
Sport Mediaset reports that Fenerbahce have put together a package worth up to €42 million. The structure is clear: €5m as an initial loan fee, a €35m obligation to buy next summer, and a further €2m in bonuses tied to performance.
Milan’s response has been equally clear. They want a straight sale. No loan, no staggered obligation, no halfway house. The figure on the table in their minds is €50m, paid outright.
This stance is not new. The Serie A club have already made it plain to Galatasaray and Benfica that only a permanent transfer will be entertained. The reasoning is obvious: the Rossoneri need immediate liquidity. With over €100m already committed this summer on Goncalo Ramos and Mario Gila, the margin for manoeuvre is shrinking. Any Leao exit has to fund the next phase of the rebuild, not kick the problem down the road.
A lucrative escape route
For Leao himself, the temptation is obvious. Reports suggest he is ready to sign a contract in Turkey worth around €12m per season, roughly double his current Milan salary. That kind of money changes careers and, often, decisions.
So while he boards a flight to Australia and pulls on Milan training gear, another version of his future is being drawn up in Istanbul boardrooms. The contrast is stark: one path keeps him at San Siro as a centrepiece of Amorim’s project, the other turns him into the marquee attraction of a Fenerbahce side intent on making a statement in Europe.
The clock is ticking, and both clubs know it.
Work on the pitch, noise off it
For Amorim, the challenge is to insulate his squad from the swirl of speculation. Milan’s schedule will not wait: Perth Glory on Saturday, more pre-season tests to follow, and then the grind of a new campaign.
He has a squad that has already been reshaped at considerable cost, with Ramos and Gila arriving to change the spine of the team. He has returning World Cup players who need clarity and roles. He has a fanbase watching every move, fully aware that selling Leao would rip a hole in the side’s attacking threat—but could also bankroll the final pieces of the summer puzzle.
Leao will land in Australia with his future unresolved, his value clear, and his options open. Whether his next decisive run comes in a red-and-black shirt or in the colours of Fenerbahce may define not just his season, but Milan’s entire transfer strategy in the weeks ahead.
