Surprise Swap? Laporta's Plan to Sign a 'Top' Winger in 2025

The FC Barcelona board could soon activate a very ambitious operation to finalize the signing of Rafael Leao in 2025. The Portuguese international has gained traction to become the next left winger for Barça, after the disappointment of not signing Nico Williams last summer.

The poor start to the season for the 'star' of Athletic Club and the issues faced by the player from Almada at AC Milan would be decisive for Joan Laporta to decide to go for the Portuguese in the upcoming summer market. In this regard, recent reports indicate a surprise swap as a possible master plan of the Barcelona board to resolve an operation that, at this point, seems almost impossible for the club's finances.

And it is that Milan insists on asking for a minimum of 120-130 million euros to let their star go, whose contract expires in 2028. However, both Laporta and Deco believe they can resolve the transfer for a price lower than 80 'million', as long as the 'rossoneri' accept including a Barcelona player in the operation.

The Swap That Would Clear the Path to Barcelona for Rafael Leao

The chosen one by Barça to offset the signing of Rafa Leao would be none other than Ansu Fati. The '10' has very little role in Hansi Flick's plans and, beyond his limited involvement this season, can still be considered an interesting bargaining chip, as he is a young winger (22 years old) who, despite injuries, still has a very high potential for improvement.

Leao, for his part, continues to struggle with his poor relationship with Paulo Fonseca, the coach of Milan. The winger has 6 goals and 6 assists in 20 matches (1,413 minutes). His last goal was scored this week against Red Star (2-1), with a notable technical gesture, characteristic of his usual quality inside the area.