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Leao reveals behind the scenes: I was close to transferring to Inter

2025-09-23 17:30:00, Sport CNA

Rafael Leao, the Milan striker, was invited to the podcast "Say Less", where he talked about his journey in football. He revealed that he initially had an agreement to move to Inter, but he rejected it, as he did not feel ready and wanted to improve further.

A few weeks later, Milan showed interest and after a video call with Paolo Maldini, Leao accepted the offer. According to him, Milan convinced him because of their great history, legendary players and 7 Champions League trophies.

The Portuguese confessed that the first moment he understood the greatness of Milan was when he played the first match at the San Siro in front of a packed stadium.

"I was ready to go to Inter, crazy. Lille's sporting director told me: 'Rafa, we're going to sell you to Inter', I said: 'No, I've done very well this season (referring to the season with Lille), I want to stay for another season to improve even more and to increase my confidence for the next challenge'. But he said no, no, I have to sell you, it's a great opportunity for you, for us, it's a lot of money. But I said no to Inter. A week, two, three weeks passed and the sporting director came back to me and said: 'Milan is interested in you'. I said: 'Yes, Milan are, if they come with an offer, I'll accept it'. After two days he came back and said: 'They've brought the offer, someone wants to talk to you', he connected me with Paolo Maldini, not a normal phone call, but a video call. Maldini said: 'You have to come, we're ready to take you'. I accepted, I answered, I couldn't say no.

"When Maldini called me, I was in the hotel because he was in pre-season training in Portugal. I went to Milan with my family and stayed in the hotel for a month. I realized how big this club is when I played my first home game. It was incredible, the stadium was full; I thought it was really incredible. Even when we won the Scudetto. It's something a player has to experience, to understand how important it is to play for Milan," said Leao.