At the close of the summer transfer season, Barcelona allegedly made an attempt to sign AC Milan's Rafael Leao but was unsuccessful. Following Barca's failure to sign top target Nico Williams, Leao was linked to a late transfer to the Catalan giants.

Barcelona "went all out for Leao," according to Bar Canaletes, and "presented the League with a Memorandum of Understanding," outlining how the team planned to finance the transfer by agreeing to a new, enormous deal with Nike. However, La Liga "did not accept the agreement in principle and rejected it," presumably due to the proposal's lack of substance. Leao ultimately decided to remain with Milan, and Barcelona has not yet finalized the terms of what is anticipated to be the largest sponsorship agreement in history with Nike.