Milan enters a summer of major reshuffling: Leão, Modrić, Rabiot and Maignan at the center of uncertainty
Milan reached the final stretch of the season with prospects of returning to the Champions League, but the final round of Serie A turned into the beginning of a new turning point at San Siro. According to the club’s official report, the 1:2 defeat to Cagliari in the 38th round on 24 May 2026 left the team on 70 points and without qualification for Europe’s strongest club competition next season. According to the same club report, instead of the Champions League, Milan will play in the Europa League in 2026/27, which is a significantly more modest sporting and financial framework for a club of such history and ambition.
The official Serie A table shows that Milan finished the 2025/26 season in fifth place, behind champions Inter, Napoli, Roma and the surprise of the season, Como. The margin was minimal but decisive: Como finished with 71 points, Milan with 70, and Juventus with 69. Such an outcome further strengthened the feeling of a missed opportunity because the Rossoneri took the lead in the final match as early as the second minute with a goal by Alexis Saelemaekers, but Cagliari turned the match around through Borrelli and Rodríguez and took all three points from San Siro.
The consequences did not remain only in the realm of sporting disappointment. RedBird Capital Partners, Milan’s ownership structure, announced the day after the championship finale that it was time for change and a comprehensive reorganization of football operations. The official statement said that chief executive Giorgio Furlani, sporting director Igli Tare, coach Massimiliano Allegri and technical director Geoffrey Moncada would leave their positions immediately. This confirmed that the summer at San Siro would not be just a classic transfer window, but an attempt to reset the sporting project.
The defeat that triggered a chain reaction
The match against Cagliari was a symbol of Milan’s end to the season. According to the club’s official report, Saelemaekers scored after roughly one hundred seconds, following a move involving Fikayo Tomori and Santiago Gimenez. Cagliari equalized in the 20th minute through Borrelli, and in the 57th minute Rodríguez headed in after a set piece and a rebound. Milan tried to change the rhythm in the second half by introducing Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leão, Luka Modrić and Niclas Füllkrug, but failed to avoid defeat.
For a club that entered the season with the goal of returning to the top of Italian football, such an ending carries weight beyond the table itself. Milan finished with 20 wins, 10 draws and 8 defeats, with a goal difference of 53:35, according to the club’s official data. Those numbers are not catastrophic in isolation, but they are insufficient in the fight for the Champions League, especially because of the decline in the closing weeks. In that context, it is understandable why the owner decided to cut through and open space for a new management structure.
The change in leadership is especially important because it affects all major decisions regarding players. The coach who built the hierarchy is no longer there, the sporting director who brought in some of the key players has also left the club, and the new people will have to decide in a short time who remains a foundation of the team and who becomes part of the market strategy. Italian media therefore write that the reshuffle could expand from the offices to the dressing room, including several players who until yesterday looked like pillars of the project.
Leão between the market, his contract and his own desire
The most attention is drawn by Rafael Leão, the forward whose name has for years been one of the most important in Milan’s sporting and market identity. According to Milan’s official announcement from 2023, the Portuguese international has a contract until 30 June 2028, which means the club is formally not under pressure to sell him. But a long contract does not remove the question of a strategic decision: if the new Milan assesses that it needs a major income for rebuilding the team, Leão is one of the few players who can bring in a significant transfer fee.
Corriere dello Sport writes that Leão is the first candidate for an outgoing transfer as part of a broader reconstruction of the team and mentions interest from Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The same newspaper estimates that his market position is weaker than in previous seasons, because he has had a period of fluctuation and a weaker final part of the championship behind him. Such information has not yet been confirmed by an official club statement, so it should be viewed as market signals, not as a final decision.
La Gazzetta dello Sport brings a different nuance to the same story. According to that source, Leão is not showing an intention to leave Milan and wants to try to regain his status with the fans and in the team, although the club may open the door to a sale if an offer arrives that it considers suitable. That is an important difference: it is not the same when a player asks to leave and when a club considers a sale as part of a financial and sporting rebalance. At this moment, according to available information, the only thing certain is that Leão is no longer beyond the reach of market discussions.
For Milan, this is also a sensitive issue because of the team’s sporting profile. Leão brings speed, individual dribbling and the ability to break open closed matches, which is not easy to replace. On the other hand, his output and consistency are often the subject of debate, and a club that remains without Champions League revenue must distribute salaries, transfer fees and future investments more carefully. That is why the decision on Leão will be one of the first tests of the new sporting direction.
Modrić’s case is tied to motivation, the Champions League and the end of his career
Luka Modrić arrived at Milan as a player with an exceptional reputation and a clear ambition to play once more at the highest level. According to Milan’s official announcement from July 2025, the Croatian midfielder signed a contract until 30 June 2026, with an option to extend for another season. That option is now becoming one of the most important questions of the transfer window, because it is not only about formally extending cooperation but about assessing whether the project has enough sporting meaning for a player at the end of his career.
Italian media report that Modrić’s future has been further complicated by the absence of the Champions League. La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that the Croatian midfielder is thinking increasingly seriously about the next step, including the possibility of saying farewell after the World Cup, and points out that he wanted one more appearance in the competition he won six times during his career. Corriere dello Sport also states that the departure of Allegri and Tare, who were important advocates of his arrival, could speed up the process of moving away from Milan.
Modrić’s status differs from Leão’s. In Leão’s case, the focus is on market value and the club’s decision, while in Modrić’s case the decisive question is motivation, physical strain and the sporting challenge. Milan may want to continue the cooperation, but a player who will turn 41 in September 2026 will naturally weigh the sense of another season without the Champions League and with a project starting over. According to available information, the final decision has not been officially confirmed.
His possible departure would also have a symbolic dimension. Modrić brought to Milan the experience of Real Madrid, authority in the dressing room and technical quality which, according to Italian reports, was one of the few stable points in a turbulent season. But the new management will have to decide whether it wants to build a short-term bridge toward results with veterans or accelerate a generational change. In both scenarios, Modrić’s choice will be one of the most closely followed moves of the summer.
Rabiot and Maignan show how broad the uncertainty is
Adrien Rabiot, according to Milan’s official announcement, arrived from Marseille and signed a contract until 30 June 2028. His formal situation is therefore more stable than Modrić’s, but Italian media still place him among the players whose future must be reassessed. Corriere dello Sport states that Rabiot was strongly connected with Allegri, the coach who knew him from Juventus and under whose influence he arrived at Milan. After Allegri’s departure, the question of his role in the new coach’s system opens up.
Rabiot is the profile of a player who can be useful in a transitional season: he is experienced, physically strong and used to the pressure of big clubs. Still, precisely such players often become the subject of consideration when a club changes its sporting strategy. If the new Milan seeks a faster, younger and more market-flexible squad, Rabiot’s status could change. If, however, the goal is to stabilize the team and return to the Champions League already through the next season, his experience could gain additional value.
Mike Maignan is a special case because on 31 January 2026 Milan officially announced that the French goalkeeper had extended his contract until 30 June 2031. In that announcement, the club called him captain and one of the central players of the team, which clearly shows that only a few months ago he was envisioned as a long-term pillar of the project. Nevertheless, Corriere dello Sport writes that his position could also be reassessed after the departure of part of the technical staff and the failure in the fight for the Champions League.
With Maignan, therefore, facts must be clearly distinguished from speculation. The fact is that he has a long contract and that Milan officially presents him as a leader. The speculation is that he could seek a more ambitious project or that the club could listen to an exceptionally high offer. In practice, such contracts usually strengthen the club’s negotiating position, but they do not close the market if an offer appears that changes the financial picture. For now, there is no official confirmation that Maignan has requested a departure.
The new Milan must build the management, the coach and the team at the same time
The biggest challenge for Milan is not the individual case of Leão, Modrić, Rabiot or Maignan, but the fact that all the decisions overlap. The club must appoint new people in the management and sporting structure, choose a coach, define the budget without Champions League revenue and at the same time answer questions about the main players. In such an environment, even the smallest delay can have consequences, because the market will not wait for San Siro to settle organizationally.
The Europa League, meanwhile, is not an insignificant competition. According to the official club report, Milan will still have European obligations in the 2026/27 season after one year of absence from Europe. That means additional matches, the need for a wider rotation and a workload that requires a quality bench. But the Europa League does not bring the same prestige or the same revenue as the Champions League, so the club must find a balance between reducing costs and preserving competitiveness.
For players, the absence of the Champions League changes the perception of the project. Ambitious footballers usually seek a platform on which they can play against the best, while older players like Modrić choose the final seasons of their careers especially carefully. Younger and market-attractive players like Leão can become targets for clubs that offer a stronger sporting framework, while players with long contracts, such as Rabiot and Maignan, enter assessments of whether they can be pillars of the new cycle or part of financial restructuring.
That is exactly why the coming summer can determine more than one season. Milan are not in complete sporting chaos: they finished fifth, will play in Europe and have a number of quality players in the squad. The problem is that the missed Champions League came after a finale that the owner described as a failure serious enough for the immediate dismissal of key people. The new project will have to show that the changes are not just a reaction to anger after a defeat, but the beginning of a sustainable plan.
What is confirmed at this moment, and what remains open
According to Milan’s official data, several key facts have been confirmed: the team lost to Cagliari 1:2, finished the Serie A season in fifth place with 70 points, missed out on the Champions League and secured the Europa League. It has also been confirmed that Giorgio Furlani, Igli Tare, Massimiliano Allegri and Geoffrey Moncada have left their roles as part of a broader reorganization. The official first-team list for the 2025/26 season still includes Maignan, Modrić, Rabiot and Leão.
The open questions will be resolved over the coming weeks. Leão has a contract until 2028, but Italian media report that Milan are considering a sale if an appropriate offer arrives. Modrić has a contract until the end of June 2026 and an option to extend, but media write that he is seriously weighing the continuation of his career after the disappointment and the change of project. Rabiot has a contract until 2028, but Allegri’s departure opens the question of his role under the new coach. Maignan has a contract until 2031, so his situation is formally the strongest, but even his name is not completely outside media discussions.
Milan’s summer can therefore be summed up in one sentence: the club must redefine itself. If it keeps most of its key figures, it will have to convince them that the Europa League is only a temporary step toward returning to the Champions League. If it opts for sales, it will have to quickly turn the income into smart reinforcements. If Modrić leaves, it will lose experience and symbolic weight; if Leão leaves, it will lose its most recognizable attacking talent; if questions open up around Rabiot or Maignan, the reshuffle will become even deeper.
For now, the only certainty is that the disappointing end to the season has changed the mood around the club. What before the final round looked like a fight for the Champions League ended with a reorganization of the leadership and a series of questions about the future of the main players. The new Milan will have to provide answers quickly, because the 2026/27 season begins long before the first official whistle: it begins with the decisions that will be made in this transfer window.
Sources:
- AC Milan – official report from the Milan - Cagliari 1:2 match and confirmation of qualification for the Europa League (link)
- AC Milan – official Serie A table for the 2025/26 season (link)
- AC Milan / RedBird Capital Partners – official statement on the reorganization and the departures of Furlani, Tare, Allegri and Moncada (link)
- AC Milan – official first-team list for the 2025/26 season (link)
- AC Milan – official announcement on Luka Modrić’s contract until 30 June 2026 with an option to extend (link)
- AC Milan – official announcement on Adrien Rabiot’s arrival and contract until 30 June 2028 (link)
- AC Milan – official announcement on Mike Maignan’s contract extension until 30 June 2031 (link)
- AC Milan – official announcement on Rafael Leão’s contract extension until 30 June 2028 (link)
- Corriere dello Sport – report on possible changes in Milan’s squad after missing out on the Champions League (link)
- La Gazzetta dello Sport – report on Leão’s intention to stay and Modrić’s reflection on his future after the end of the season (link)