Rafael Leao wants to leave AC Milan(Image: Getty Images)
Fenerbahce presidential candidate Hakan Safi claims Newcastle United-linked Rafael Leao will not be signing for the Turkish club.
Leal, 26, is said to have spoken with Safi last week after making clear that he wants to leave AC Milan and Serie A this summer. Newcastle are one of several Premier League clubs credited with an interest in the Portugal international.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are also reportedly admirers of Leao. He has a £151million release clause, but Milan are said to be considering selling for less than a third of that price after an underwhelming season.
Safi, however, has effectively ruled out Fenerbahce signing Leao if he assumes power. He is one of two candidates standing in the club's elections this coming weekend, the other being former president Aziz Yildirim.
The businessman said at a press conference on Sunday: "I met Leao a few days ago, but after 10 minutes of chatting, I realised he won't be our hitman. How did I realise that? Because we asked, we looked into it."
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Leao made clear a day earlier that he wanted to move on from Milan. He told the Portuguese television network Sport TV: "I think I gave Milan everything I could give.
"It is a club that helped me grow a lot and supported me through difficult moments. I am happy to have left my mark on the club's history.
"Everyone has their dreams, their challenges, the things they want, the goals they want to achieve. And I also want to take on a new challenge in a new league."
The player has also spoken specifically about the Premier League. On the Cernucci Podcast, he spoke about whether he watches the league.
Leao said: "Yeah, of course," before adding, "I like United" when asked if he follows any particular teams, and then laughed before eventually replying. He explained: "I used to watch Manchester United because of my idol Cristiano Ronaldo. I like Arsenal also.
Eddie Howe spoke at length about Newcastle's summer plans before the end of the season. Speaking about what profile of players they will target, he explained: "It's very much on the position that we need, and then you make a decision on what type of profile that you need in terms of age.
"Do you need someone to slip behind someone and develop them? Do you need someone to come in and play from minute one? All those things come into how you build the profile of the player that you want, so I don't think there's one strategy.
"Of course, financially has an impact as well. If you don't have a huge budget to spend on that position, then naturally, you're not necessarily going to get a starting player, so I think I know everyone wants sort of hard and fast rules on recruitment, but it doesn't work like that in my opinion."
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