CAS shifts Leao’s astronomical €20m fine to Lille: the details

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has sentenced Lille to pay €20 million in damages to Sporting Lisbon for the “Rafael Leao case”.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Lausanne, according to reports from Portuguese newspaper Record, has sentenced Lille to pay a compensation fee of €20 million to Sporting Lisbon for the “Rafael Leao case”.

The AC Milan left winger, from what filters from Switzerland, was acquitted by the judging panel which transferred the entire responsibility for paying the compensation fee for the events that occurred in 2018 to the French club.

At that time, Rafael Leao unilaterally terminated his contract with Sporting Lisbon after a number of players were physically attacked by the fans for failing to secure a spot in the Champions League at the end of the season. The 22-year-old eventually joined Lille on a free transfer and one year latter moved to AC Milan for nearly 30 million euros.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Therefore it’s up to Lille to pay Sporting. Leao with the current salary he receives from Milan (€1.5 million per season), could not – in any way – cover the amount sentenced by CAS, which is even higher than the initial €16.5 million fee that was awarded to Portuguese club.

It is very likely that the French club and the player’s lawyers, who remains co-debtor, will sit down to discuss with Leao, who in fact was the one to terminate his contract with Sporting, to find an agreement and ensure that Leao takes part in the expenses through a solidarity contribution.

Nevertheless, the contract renewal of Rafael Leao with AC Milan is not in danger regardless of what happens between the winger and Lille. The Portugal international will extend his deal until 2026 with a salary of around 4 million per season, plus bonuses.

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