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MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 26: Rafael Leao of AC Milan reacts during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on April 26, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Reports in Italy claim that Rafael Leao is at risk of being dropped from Massimiliano Allegri’s starting line-up and that the Rossoneri could look to sell the Portugal international in the upcoming summer transfer window.
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Could Leao be dropped and then sold by Milan?
Leao and his Milan teammates are on a disappointing run of form heading into the final few games of the 2025-26 season, with just four points to their name from their last five Serie A matches.
Leao is without a goal in over two months, dating back to the 2-0 win over Cremonese on March 1. The Portugal international is yet to cross double figures in the league, currently on nine goals, heading into the final three Serie A matches of the season. That is despite the fact that he has spent most of the season playing as a centre-forward in a 3-5-2.
According to updates from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan are ‘growing tired’ of waiting for Leao to become a consistently reliable player.
It has been said that the 26-year-old is not impacting games in the way that he used to in years gone by, and his lack of defensive effort has constantly been a complaint among Rossoneri supporters. His icy reactions to being substituted off in recent matches has not gone down well, either.
For these reasons, La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Leao is at risk of losing his place in the starting XI for Milan’s upcoming Serie A match against Atalanta on Sunday evening. Thursday’s report explains that Leao still has another few days to convince Allegri to keep the faith in him, but as things stand, he is ‘a step behind’ Christian Pulisic and Santiago Gimenez in the pecking order.
La Gazzetta dello Sport predicts that this could be the summer that Milan decide to part ways with Leao as well. The Pink Paper claims that Milan ‘will not only evaluate, but encourage’ offers for the winger-turned striker this coming window.
Leao has a staggering €175m release clause in his Rossoneri contract, which is not expected to be activated. In fact, Milan might be looking at offers of less than a third of the value of the release clause.
La Gazzetta dello Sport’s prediction is that offers in the region of €50m-€60m could be enough to convince Milan into a sale this summer.
ByPeter Young
Peter Young is a Senior Reporter with Football Italia.
