Manchester City are refusing to give up on the prospect of Brazilian superstar Kaka.
The Blues are said to be prepared to pay the 26-year-old former world footballer of the year a staggering £500,000 a week to join the Eastlands revolution, with AC Milan netting a world record £100million transfer fee.
Initial reaction from Italy has not been positive, with Kaka giving an interview to the TV station of owner Silvio Berlusconi, MediaSet, stating he remains commited to the San Siro outfit and is purely interested in helping them regain their former status as Champions League winners.
However, such talk is different from the noises being made behind the scenes and there are some inside City who remain highly confident a transfer will be brokered at some point this month.
It is felt Kaka wants to know more about the proposals City are keen to put to him, a fact acknowledged by his spokesperson Diogo Kotscho.
And there is a suggestion Kaka's father may have talks with City executive chairman Garry Cook at some point over the next 10 days to discover the club's precise intentions.
Such a move would be hugely significant as Kaka's father has played a key role in his son's career and any decision to leave Milan would almost certainly require his agreement.
The City delegation that flew out of Italy last night privately felt negotiations with Milan had gone well, building on contacts that were initially made well over a month ago.
As money is seemingly no object for this deal, City must now prove to Kaka their grand plan involves more than just cash.
Although he has not been working on the Blues' behalf, Kia Joorabchian has been used as an intermediary and is likely to be involved further given his extensive network of South American contacts, should talks progress.
Even Kotscho hinted further negotiations are almost certain, while at the same time stressing Kaka's commitment to AC Milan.
"If Milan agree and give us authorisation to talk with them, we would speak to Manchester City," Kotscho told BBC Radio Five Live.
"It is a great proposal. It is near £100million.
"It is not impossible (that Kaka could sign for City). But for us it is not only about money, we don't need only money.
"We have to have a good project and a winning project. It can be a project for the long term (to be) a top team in the world."
It is certainly a less straightforward situation than Milan want their fans to believe.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti realises he needs extra funds for his rebuilding plans and the mere fact Milan have been prepared to offer David Beckham a short-term contract emphasises the difficulty they have compared with their major European rivals in the Premier League and La Liga.
Nevertheless, Kaka is certainly making all the right statements, which is to be expected of a player who has become sewn into the fabric of AC Milan since his arrival from South America in 2003.
"This is not probably something which will see me leave Milan," he said.
"If, one day, the club wishes to sell me then it is a different issue altogether.
"But I feel very good. It's not the money that will see me leave. I want to grow old at Milan."
So far, it has been a frustrating month in the transfer market for City, whose fans might wonder how they can offer such vast sums for Kaka while failing to agree terms with West Ham, Blackburn and Newcastle for Scott Parker, Roque Santa Cruz and Shay Given.
Indeed, manager Mark Hughes claims not to be a fan of the January transfer window at all.
"I don't particularly like the transfer window because you have to wait to address things that could be sorted out a lot more quickly under the old system," he told the Manchester Evening News.
"I am sure there were reasons behind bringing in the transfer window in the first place but I cannot fathom what they were.
"There have been weaknesses in our squad for quite some time and I have not had the opportunity to address those. If I had been able to do so I would have done it very quickly.
"Now we get to January and the prices are inflated, expectations are heightened and the media goes crazy. I don't think it is a healthy situation."
Your Comments
King_Kenny
"Imagine Kaka plying his trade in the championship! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
This story is pure comedy! only fleet street could keep this nonsense alive!"
Solskjaer1999
"I think that there is a couple of reasons why this transfer could go through despite what Kaka said about wanting to grow old at Milan. Kaka said that he wanted to stay at Milan as long as they didnt want to sell him and when City come knocking with £100 million in this economic climate you have to look at it especially as Kaka has not been at his usual peak since the arrival of Ronaldinho. £100 million is great business whatever way you look at it and Milan do not have endless pockets remember them not being able to afford Ronaldinho and Adebayor? Once Milan accpet this crazy amount of cash then City get to speak to Kaka and offer him £500,000 a week and a chance to play with his mate Robinho and the possibility of a couple more Brazilians then he could be swayed.Kaka is a god freak and gives something like 10% of his wages directly to the church so that is £50,000 a week which is more than most players earn anyway. The only thing that might stop this transfer apart from Manchesters climate is convincing him of Champions League football in 2 years and if they get Kaka then the rest should follow as in the field of dreams said "IF you buy Kaka they will come".......See ya Darius you joker"
leftwinger
"sorry if this has been said before, but i think if chelsea had been putting in that money for kaka he may have gone simply because chelsea are in london, whereas man city are, obviously, located in manchester. location is much more important in football than a lot of people think: i doubt very much whether ronaldo would be persistently reluctant to commit himself to united if they were based in spain or italy. if you think about it, when was the last time an english side signed a global 'superstar' when they were in the prime of their career, rather than just being a kid or a veteran? torres is the only example i can think of (robinho has fame, granted, but he wasn't exactly on everyone's minds when they were thinking about the best players in the world)
i'm sure people are right when they say that kaka is put off man city because they don't have a good enough squad: but i think even if the offer had come from someone like united, he would still have rejected it. "
JFC49
"Shame he's not coming but proves one thing, money is not everything and a club has to have potential to win things. Championship football not Champions League is no incentive."
rh6462
"The sad thing is, dboy, that many a player will be so motivated by the money. Robinho and Darius Vassell have no place in the same team, but Robinho came because they paid him. Kaka' is one of the few players in world football who has integrity and that's why, alongside Messi, he's the best in the world, regardless of what the awards say. But I'm sure plenty of top players won't have quite so much about them to turn down that kinda money..."
snake689
"Things get funnier for City and I didn't think it could get funnier then City being two divisions below the Premiership. Now their in a position where they think their a big club that can buy the big players only too find out they can't. Noone is going to want to join City because their not a big club, this is the reality of the situation and it is funny to see City think they are."
CFC4EVR
"FFS! spend the $100 million in Africa and save some lives will you?"
dude_javis
"Good lad Kaka, nice to see that Money is not a deciding factor with you, otherwise he would have sputed the "anything can happen in football and the premier league is the greatest league in the world" horsecrap. I mean, the thought of him in a City jersey is laughable, a fantastic player with ambition will not leave for City, Chelsea have ruined it for them with their spending and showing that a player is only a number and can be replaced by the next big thing...or mercenary"
dboy
"Get used to this City fans - what top player would want to play for a team just above the relegation zone, not playing in the Champions League??? Its just a matter of time before Robhino comes to his senses and does his dummy spitting out the mouth trick to force a transfer."
harryboulton
"Fancy that? Didn't see this coming at all......."
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