Al-Hilal ready to make Leao the third biggest transfer in history

Saudi Arabian football club Al-Hilal is reportedly prepared to pay the release clause for AC Milan star Rafael Leão, according to the Portuguese newspaper “O Jogo.”

Al-Hilal, which will compete in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup featuring 32 teams, has significant ambitions. The club has already secured Brazilian star Neymar, Portuguese midfielder Rúben Neves, Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić, and Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

🚨 Al-Hilal wants to sign AC Milan star Rafael Leão. 🇸🇦✍️

Leão’s father will travel to Saudi Arabia this week to negotiate with club. ✈️

The €175M release clause won’t be an issue for the Saudi club. 💸✅

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(Source: @ojogo) pic.twitter.com/jI4wWY2Dec

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Managed by Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, Al-Hilal has expressed its readiness to pay the 175 million euro release clause for the Portuguese forward, who has a contract with AC Milan until 2028. “O Jogo” claims that the player’s father, António Leão, is expected to be in Saudi Arabia over the weekend to discuss the player’s future.  If the deal goes through, Leao would be the third most expensive football player in history behind Neymar, who was bought by PSG from Barcelona for 222 million euros and Kyllian Mbappe, who costed PSG 180 million in 2018.

Despite offers from Barcelona and Real Madrid, Leão’s agent Jorge Mendes has reportedly found those offers to be much lower than Al-Hilal’s proposition.