AC Milan star striker and Portugal’s prodigy, Rafael Leao, has been quiet since the rumours around him had shut down this summer window, making his stay at AC Milan assured.
Although missing out the start of the season with a calf injury, Rafael Leao had managed 7 goals and 2 assists in 16 games this season, which is quite below his calibre.
Despite his underwhelming form, Massimiliano Allegri has managed to bring up the Rossoneri from a poor season, currently sitting 2nd in the Serie A table, 5 points below league leaders, Inter Milan.
Leao was expected to leave Milan in the summer after reports suggested that he had informed the club about his desire to move.
One Club among the contention were Manchester United, who have been constantly linked with the Portuguese for a long time since his fame into the football world.
Adding some substance to it, Rafael Leao had shared a post involving United recently.
He had shared a reel on his Instagram story with an eyes “👀” emoticon about the United fans replicating Matheus Cunha’s surfing celebration after goals against Arsenal and Fulham recently.
We had the Lingard Milly Rock
— Tom Roden (@troden117) January 25, 2026
And now we have the Cunha Surf
Winning at the Emirates is always a scene lmao
YANITED YANITED pic.twitter.com/8iNUH0tv1h
This had ignited the rumours again, with an understanding that Leao is building up for a move to United in the near future.
But it needed better understanding from the United fans, as the social media shoutout from Leao was not transfer related and more about the celebration.
It was Rafael Leao who had first discovered the Surfing Celebration.
Starting in 2022/23 season, he first did the celebration in Derby Della Madonnina. After scoring a brace against Inter, Rafa Leao introduced to the world the celebration and its association with his life.
Perhaps, Leao takes inspiration from surfing as a footballer too. In an interview with DAZN, he had explained about his association with surfing.
“Sometimes surfers miss a wave, but they always get back on the board and try to do their best. I think this is the right way to approach things: you can try and fail but you have to keep learning, find the solutions to the mistakes you make“.
Both Cunha and Leao had done the celebration in similar fashion, that it was easy for Leao to spot it. It involves imitating a surfer’s movements, with bent knees and free hands, moving right and left, self imagining the wave flow.
Although it was a self manufactured rumour, Rafael Leao at the Old Trafford, recreating the Surf Celebration along with Cunha will be a spectacular scenery for the United fans.
