Habertürk Spor21 hours agoSpor2 min readTürkiye

Leao was ordered to pay 20 million euros to Sporting; Galatasaray is experiencing difficulties in Europe

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The Portuguese Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Rafael Leao should be found unfair to Sporting and pay approximately 20 million euros with interest in 2022.
Within the scope of the agreement between Lille and Milan, this payment was made by the Italian representative and the total transfer fee paid by Milan for Leao increased to 50 million euros.
Sporting fans reacted to Leao in the first match against rivals at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.

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Why It Matters

After playing for Sporting CP between the 2018-2021 seasons, Rafael Leao was transferred to Lille and then moved to AC Milan. Sporting filed for arbitration, claiming that Leao had violated his contract. Galatasaray, on the other hand, has had difficulties in European cups in recent years and its away performance is especially poor.

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In its decision in 2022, the Portuguese Court of Arbitration for Sport found Leao unfair and ordered Sporting to be paid approximately 20 million euros with interest. This fee was paid by the Italian representative in accordance with the agreement between Lille and Milan. Thus, the transfer fee paid by Milan reached 50 million euros.

Green-white fans reacted to Leao, who came to Jose Alvalade Stadium as a rival to Sporting for the first time after the eventful separation. Leao, who replaced Leroy Sane in the 58th minute of the match, was whistled every time he received the ball.

HE CANNOT ENTER THE SEASON WELL IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Galatasaray could only win 1 of the 10 first week matches in the group/league stage of the Champions League. The yellow-red team drew 4 of the opening matches in this period and was defeated 5 times.

Galatasaray's opening performance in the last 10 Champions League organizations it participated in is as follows:

2006-2007 Galatasaray-Bordeaux 0-0

2012-2013 Manchester United-Galatasaray 1-0

2013-2014 Galatasaray-Real Madrid 1-6

2014-2015 Galatasaray-Anderlecht 1-1

2015-2016 Galatasaray-Atletico Madrid 0-2

2018-2019 Galatasaray-Lokomotiv Moscow 3-0

2019-2020 Club Brugge-Galatasaray 0-0

2023-2024 Galatasaray-Copenhagen 2-2

2025-2026 Eintracht Frankfurt-Galatasaray 5-1

2026-2027 Sporting-Galatasaray 3-1

HE COULD SMILE ONCE IN THE LAST 16 AWAY MATCHES IN EUROPE

The yellow-red team could win only one of the last 16 away matches in the European cups. Galatasaray played 16 away matches in the European cup in the 2023-2024 season, starting with the Bayern Munich match in the UEFA Champions League, where it lost 2-1. The yellow-red team only managed to defeat the Dutch representative Ajax (3-0) last season in this process. While Galatasaray had 3 draws in the other 15 matches, it was defeated for the 12th time.

GOALS IN G.SARAY'S LAST 40 EUROPEAN MATCHES

At least 1 goal was scored in the last 40 matches of the yellow-red team in European cups. The yellow-red team's away match against the Spanish representative Barcelona in the last 16 rounds of the UEFA Europa League in the 2021-2022 season ended in a 0-0 draw. The match in question was the last match in which Galatasaray did not score a goal in the European cups. In the 40 matches played after Galatasaray, one of the two teams scored at least once.

Open Questions

Will Sporting take any other legal steps once Leao's payment is completed?
What tactical changes can be made to improve Galatasaray's performance in Europe?
When will Leao's contract at Milan expire and what are his future transfer plans?