Rafael Leão's expected departure from Milan this summer is no longer a certainty, with the winger back in pre-season and no club yet meeting his valuation, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The context is a saga that looked all but settled at the end of May. After the collapse against Cagliari confirmed no Champions League football for 2026-27, Leão's own words in Portugal and abroad sounded like a goodbye, and management were unhappy with public statements that risked lowering his value.
Those comments were pointed. "I think I've already given everything I had. I'd be happy to try a new challenge, in a new league," Leão said, a line that read as a farewell at the time.
His summer did little to force the issue. At the World Cup he scored once against Uzbekistan, the fifth in a 5-0 win, and set up Gonçalo Ramos for the winner against Croatia, but he lacked the run of form that might have tempted a top club into a serious bid.
Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe have tracked him for a while and have been in contact with Gerry Cardinale, but neither has come close to Milan's price. Signing Leão would cost €50-60m, and the two Turkish sides have not approached that figure. So the No.10 flew to Perth and picked his tenure back up.
Gazzetta report a softening on the player's side too. Without an offer that interested him, and with no wish for a head-on confrontation, Leão has almost closed the door on the Süper Lig as things stand, though he has not formally rejected it. Rumours persist in Turkey of Galatasaray preparing to increase their pressure, but a move to Istanbul is not his first option.
The dressing room appears to have played its part. Leão has felt respected again, with Matteo Gabbia, Luka Modrić and Davide Bartesaghi all speaking warmly of him, and he is said to be smiling once more in training and matches.
Ruben Amorim, for his part, has kept the focus off the individual. Asked after Milan's match about the player's first week, the coach said: "What do I think of his first week on the job? What I said in the press conference: if you're a Milan player, you're lucky and you have to enjoy yourself. He's doing that, and today he helped the team, which is my focus. But I rate him the same as the others."
Amorim is still assessing whether Leão can meet the immediate pressing demands he wants when Milan lose the ball. On the pitch, the early signs were encouraging: introduced for the final half hour, Leão nearly teed up Christopher Nkunku but for a sharp Ivan Provedel save, and linked well with Ramos.
From here, the decision sits with Amorim and how the mercato moves before September 1st. Leão is back in the shirt he has worn for seven years, and for now that is the only certainty.