Report: Newcastle willing to quadruple wages of forward who’s better than Cristiano Ronaldo

Tue 3 May 2022 20:47, UK

Newcastle United are reportedly one of the frontrunners in the race to sign Rafael Leao this summer.

This is according to , via .

The Italian outlet also claims the Magpies are willing to quadruple the 22-year-old’s wages.

Newcastle have been linked with Leao in recent months.

reported in February that Newcastle were up against Manchester City in pursuit of the AC Milan ace.

Now, with the Magpies’ Premier League future all but secured, they can realistically try their luck for Leao this summer.

La Repubblica has claimed that City are still eyeing the Portugal international.

However, the outlet claims the ‘most decisive courtship’ Jorge Mendes has received has been from the Magpies and PSG.

Leao reportedly boasts a €70m (£59m) price tag, and his current contract is worth €1.5m per year.

Meanwhile, Milan’s reported renewal ceiling is €4m per season plus bonuses.

And the ‘crux’ is the offer from the Premier League or the Ligue 1 winners, worth around €6m (£5m) per year.

This would work out as around £96,000-a-week, a reasonable salary for a top-end forward in the Premier League.

“The best player in the history of the Sporting academy”

Leao has scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in all competitions for Milan this season.

He is a star in the making and he’s destined for a big move sooner rather than later.

Leao came through the ranks at Sporting Lisbon, the same club that produced Cristiano Ronaldo.

His coach there, Tiago Fernandes, believes he’s the club’s best-ever academy product, even better than CR7.

In 2019, he told : “I met him when he was 14 and few people understood his way of playing.

“He was doing things with the ball that no one could do. He’s the best player in the history of the Sporting academy.”