Wednesday Football

14 January 2009

by Jerrad Peters

 

City rebuffed in Kaka bid

 

Kaka has turned down a record-setting transfer to Manchester City. The AC Milan superstar was the subject of a 100M-pound bid on Tuesday after City chief executive Garry Cook and a delegation of club officials met their Milan counterparts at the Italian side's headquarters. Cook was prepared to cut a cheque for the player on the spot if an agreement was reached. Personal terms would have seen the 26-year-old earn over 260,000-pounds per week at Eastlands.

Details of the offer were made public this morning, and Kaka's spokesman would not rule out the possibility of a deal when he was contacted just after 11:30am.

"Kaka will talk to Manchester City if the two clubs agree a fee," said Diogo Kotscho. "The Premier League is one of the best and he wants to play there. I don't know if it will be this time or not." He added, "It's not impossible, but it will be difficult to reach a deal with AC Milan."

Kaka, meanwhile, learned of the City bid as he prepared for Wednesday training. He publicly rejected the offer on the television channel Mediaset at the conclusion of the session.

"I reiterate what I have always said," he remarked. "They can make the offer they want, but it will depend on Milan. It's not the first time this has happened. I have already said 'no' to other offers and this is probably something which will not see me leave Milan. If, one day, the club wishes to sell me, then it is a different issue altogether."

If completed, the transaction would have shattered the previous transfer record, doubling the 48M-pounds Real Madrid paid Juventus for Zinedine Zidane in 2001. Still, Kaka's future at the San Siro will be in question as long as Milan remain out of the Champions' League places. Real Madrid have made offers for him in the past, and the matter of his future with the Rossoneri will be front and centre once again if the club fails to finish in the top four in Serie A.

"If Manchester City are to become one of the top teams in the world, they have to have a project to be the best," said Kotscho. At this time, we can negotiate with them. If they have a good project—and can get other players—to become one of the top teams in the World like AC Milan are, then we can negotiate."

For now, however, Kaka is focused at the tasks at hand—propelling Milan up the standings and becoming a leader on the team.

"I want to grow old at Milan," he said. "I want to captain this team. We all know that there is a pecking order at the club. Maldini and Ambrosini are before me, but my ambition is to lead the club."

 

Spurs chasing Adriano signature

 

Harry Redknapp watched Inter Milan beat Genoa in the Copa Italia, Tuesday, after meeting with Nerazzurri sporting director Marco Branca to discuss the possible transfer of Adriano. Redknapp tore a strip off his players after a lackluster 1-0 loss to Wigan on Saturday and is actively seeking to re-vamp his squad. The Spurs manager is also thought to be keen on Inter defender Nicolas Burdisso and Udinese midfielder Christian Obodo.

Inter, however, value Adriano at approximately 20M-euros—pricing him out of what Spurs would be willing to pay. Instead, the London club has proposed that 25-year-old England midfielder Jermaine Jenas move to the San Siro as part of a swap-deal.

While Inter seem keen on moving Adriano out of the club, the player is attempting to control his destiny as much as he can. He has already quashed a deal that would have seen him join Sampdoria in exchange for Antonio Cassano. That said, Spurs would be able to offer a far higher wage than the Genoa club.

Adriano has been in Inter manager Jose Mourinho's doghouse since early this season. After returning to Serie A from Sao Paulo, the 26-year-old came on strong in the early going of the campaign, only to burn out by mid-autumn. He has been troubled by fitness and emotional problems since the death of his father in 2006.