AC Milan sell Rafael Leão to Galatasaray in €38m deal

AC Milan have completed the permanent sale of Rafael Leão to Galatasaray, bringing one of the club’s most significant attacking eras of the past decade to an end.

Galatasaray will pay Milan a guaranteed €38million for the Portugal international, with the Rossoneri also entitled to 20 per cent of any future profit generated by a subsequent sale.

Leão has signed a four-year contract running from the 2026/27 season and will earn a guaranteed net salary of €10m per year, according to the financial details published by Galatasaray.

The transfer ends a seven-season spell in Milan that began in the summer of 2019.

Leão developed from a high-potential winger into one of Serie A’s most influential attackers during that period and became a central figure in Milan’s 2021/22 title-winning campaign. His performances that season earned him the Serie A Most Valuable Player award.

By the end of the 2025/26 season, the 27-year-old had made close to 300 appearances for Milan across domestic and European competition.

His final campaign was more disrupted than many of those that preceded it. Milan confirmed earlier this summer that injuries had affected his rhythm during 2025/26, when he was used more frequently as a central forward and still finished with 10 goals in all competitions.

Leão’s departure now leaves Milan with a substantial attacking gap to address.

For much of the past seven years, his acceleration, ball-carrying and ability to isolate defenders on the left gave Milan an attacking dimension that was difficult to replace structurally. Even when his output fluctuated, he remained one of the players most capable of changing the rhythm of a match through individual actions.

The move also carries major significance for Galatasaray.

The Turkish champions have committed heavily to the deal financially and add a player still in his prime, with extensive Champions League and Serie A experience.

Leão said after signing that Galatasaray had been working to bring him to Istanbul since June and that he had joined with the ambition of winning titles and contributing with goals and assists.

For Milan, the wider question is what comes next.

The club have converted one of their most valuable assets into a major fee, but replacing Leão is not simply a matter of finding another winger. His profile shaped the left side of Milan’s attack for years, and the next phase of the squad build will need to account for both his production and the tactical gravity he provided.

His move to Istanbul therefore closes more than a transfer saga. It ends a defining chapter in Milan’s modern attacking identity and opens a significant recruitment decision in the final days of the window.