Why Rafael Leão is still very far from PSG

If the information revealed in our columns of January 7 on Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid had the effect of a bombshell among the general public, it surprised more than one, even inside the club . If the exclusivity has since been widely relayed and re-appropriated by other media, Luis Campos did not delay in getting to work to find a player who will be capable of succeeding the star striker of PSG and the French team.

The strong man of the Parisian transfer window obviously knows that apart from betting on Erling Haaland, it will be almost impossible for him to replace the current top scorer in Ligue 1. However, several profiles emerge, including two that Campos knows very well for having brought them to Lille and which will be on the market next summer. If Victor Osimhen, the Nigerian serial scorer from Napoli, has been followed for a long time by PSG, another former Lille player from Serie A, Rafael Leão, has won over Luis Campos to the highest degree, who has made him a prime target for the transfer window summer.

Rafael Leão did not make PSG a priority

Feeling at the end of the cycle in a club where he has been playing for 5 seasons, Rafael Leão has performed less since the start of the season (6 goals and 8 assists in 27 matches) and is sailing far from his stratospheric 2022-23 season, the one where he had scored 16 goals and 15 assists in 48 matches in all competitions. The Portuguese international (23 caps – 3 goals) is therefore open to a departure despite his recent extension until June 2028. But to go where? According to our information, the player has not made PSG a priority. Leão knows Ligue 1 having played there for a season with LOSC in 2018-19 and is aiming more for the Premier League or La Liga.

Concerning his positioning, it’s difficult to imagine him in any position other than that of left winger. If he can help out in the center, it is clearly not his preferred position and he is not the type of player who can score 50 goals per season. Will Paris try it when Bradley Barcola is clearly gaining strength on the left in recent weeks and PSG is counting a lot on him for the future? Nothing is less sure.

PSG has a strong argument to convince the player

Another important detail is the price. If the money for a transfer is not a problem for PSG and the salary even less especially with the future departure of Kylian Mbappé, the number 10 of AC Milan risks being very difficult to dislodge from Lombardy. If there is indeed a release clause (worth €175M), it is only valid from July 5 to 15 during all of Leão’s remaining contract years at AC Milan, i.e. until ‘in June 2028. Regarding the rest of the transfer window, it will be a period of over-the-counter negotiation, as in any other deal. Therefore, apart from a madness at the beginning of July by PSG, it is difficult to see why Olivier Giroud’s club would sell off a player that it has recently extended.

However, Paris has an argument that could attract the player trained at Sporting, beyond the presence of Goncalo Ramos and Nuno Mendes, very close to Leão: the salary. Today earning €5.1 million net per year in Milan, PSG will have no trouble tripling or even quadrupling his salary to try to convince him to join Porte de Saint Cloud. Finally, the final reason that could push the former Lille player into Luis Campos’ net is the strong competition that exists in most major European clubs for the left winger position. Apart from a game of musical chairs or madness from an English club, PSG’s offer could be the only truly coherent one of the summer for Rafael Leão. Enough to see him strengthen the already enormous contingent of Portuguese players (4) within the Parisian club? To be continued..