AC Milan target Thiago Maia 'ready' for Santos exit

Rio de Janeiro, June 4 (IANS): Brazil under-23 midfielder Thiago Maia of Brazilian Serie A outfit Santos has declared he is ready to join a European football club amid reports linking him to AC Milan and Lille. Maia has a 14 million euro ($15.79 million) release clause which could be paid by the 20-year-old's suitors during the upcoming European summer transfer window, according the Diario de S. Paulo newspaper on Sunday. "I'm relaxed and I hope to leave on good terms," Xinhua news agency quoted Maia as saying by the newspaper. Maia has made 115 first-team appearances for Santos since being promoted from the club's youth ranks in in 2014. He has represented Brazil's under-17, under-20 and under-23 national teams and was part of the outfit that won the gold medal for Brazil at last year's Rio Olympics.