Leão and seven other unwanted Milan players left out of squad for Man United match
Quick summary
AC Milan have excluded Rafael Leão and seven other players deemed surplus to requirements from their squad for the upcoming match against Manchester United, signaling their availability for transfer.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceMilan will take on Manchester United in a pre-season friendly in Poland on Saturday afternoon, but a group of seven unwanted Rossoneri players including Rafael Leao have not been called up to Ruben Amorim’s travelling squad.
Leao tops list of Milan players left out of Man United friendly Milan and United will meet in Wroclaw on Saturday in their final pre-season test of the summer. The Rossoneri will be in Serie A action against Torino the following weekend.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA – AUGUST 08: Head coach Ruben Amorim of AC Milan looks on during the pre-season friendly between Chelsea FC and AC Milan at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on August 08, 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Peksi Cahyo/Getty Images) Milan have recently returned from their pre-season tour of Australia and South East Asia, which gave newly-appointed head coach Amorim an opportunity to take an in-depth look at all of the players in his squad.
According to reports on Thursday, the club has now drawn up a list of players who will be put up for sale and are no longer considered part of the Milan project. That list included Christopher Nkunku, Youssouf Fofana, Fikayo Tomori and David Odogu. Leao, Santiago Gimenez and Pervis Estupinan are also likely to be sold if an appropriate offer comes in.
Gianluca Di Marzio confirms that all seven of those players, plus full-back Filippo Terracciano will not travel with the rest of the Milan squad for the Manchester United friendly on Saturday. Leao has been ruled out with a muscular injury, which could also force him out of the Torino match in Serie A next weekend as well.
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What happened
AC Milan have omitted Rafael Leão — the club's most high-profile asset — along with seven other unwanted players from the travelling squad for the fixture against Manchester United. The decision indicates that the Rossoneri are actively looking to offload these players during the transfer window. The exclusions are a clear message to the players and potential suitors that their futures lie away from San Siro. Leão's omission is particularly significant given his status and contract situation. The eight excluded players will train separately while their teammates prepare for the match.
Chance analysis
Milan's decision to publicly exclude Leão and seven others is both a squad-management statement and a transfer signal. For prediction systems, it means Milan will field a weakened attacking line, which directly affects goal-scoring expectations in the upcoming match. In the transfer market, this accelerates timelines — interested clubs now know the price is negotiable and the player is available. The Leão situation especially warrants monitoring as a potential marquee move.
Milan's match-day squad is weakened by up to eight excluded players, reducing attacking quality and signaling transfer intent, particularly for Rafael Leão.
Milan will likely field a weakened side against Man United, potentially reducing their attacking threat and increasing the probability of a Man United result or higher-scoring game.