AC Milan star Rafael Leao has joked that the weather in England could prevent him from making a move to the Premier League.
Leao has been linked with a transfer away from Milan following a brilliant start to the season with the Italian club. The 23-year-old forward has contributed nine goals and 10 assists in 32 appearances so far in the 2022/23 season, attracting attention from Premier League sides including Liverpool and Chelsea.
CalcioMercato have suggested that Liverpool are considering a move in the summer transfer window, with Leao into the final 18 months of his contract. The Reds would even be willing to include Luis Diaz in a swap deal to lower Leao’s asking price.
That offer might not sound too attractive to the Portugal international, who is not a fan of the cold, wet climate in England. In an interview with Kick Game, he spoke about his experience of the country, which comes from a single visit.
Asked what he thinks of London, he said: “I don’t like the weather! I don’t like the weather, but it was my first time in London. I like the shopping.”
Leao was then asked if Serie A was easy for him. He replied: “Looks like it, yeah! No, but Serie A, when I came here I’d been in France and the first year was difficult because, the opponents, they came hard.
“When you have some skills, you’re fast and you can create, it made the second year much better and I just grow, grow, grow.”
If Premier League sides do bid for his services in the summer, they won’t come cheap. Italian outlets have reported that he has a €150m (£131.9m) release clause written into his contract, which currently runs until June 2024.
Leao will get another chance to experience London – and maybe change his mind about its climate – when Milan face Tottenham in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on March 8. The Italian giants take a 1-0 lead into the second leg following Brahim Diaz’s goal in the first meeting on February 14.
He joined AC Milan from Lille in August 2019 for €35m. After a slow start in northern Italy he has found his feet and has 36 goals and 31 assists in 147 games across all competitions.
Leao has also earned 16 caps for Portugal, scoring two goals – both of which came at the World Cup in Qatar last year.
AC Milan are trying to extend Leao’s contract to protect their asset – and even released a statement last year to deny stories that negotiations had broken down. “Stories on negotiations collapsed with Leao are fake - also damaging [the] image of both club and player,” the statement read. “AC Milan keep negotiating with Leao in a professional way.
