The Italian Job.
Kaka Stays with AC Milan.
by rick olivares
Kaka Stays with AC Milan.
by rick olivares
Kaka has own seven days in the desert where he eventually resisted the temptations of Abu Dhabi and Manchester City. He resisted £25 million.
He eventually decided to choose his club over cash. Is he wiping the sweat from his brow?
"I listened to my heart," said the Brazilian midfielder.
What many people do not know is how the Kaka Affair also should serve as a lesson on how to win and lose a PR battle. It was at the end of the day another sleek and maybe devious Italian Job.
Clearly, AC Milan knows that they cannot win with the present line-up. The Champions League title in 2007 may have been a last gasp of silverware glory but that it's Internazionale that has been the class of the Serie A in the last three years. And although the nerazzurri seem to be running out of steam they remain the champions until someone can take it away from them.
And charging hard behind is a resurgent Juventus.
Milan has been trying to lure players like David Beckham and Franck Ribery to San Siro but as in the case of the Frenchman, Bayern Munich isn't biting. "Not for sale," they say.
For sale.
Milan could really use the cash from the transfer fee of £108 million but what Silvio Berlusconi and company did was not have Kaka personally meet with Manchester City officials. As such, no personal offer was made but only through intermediaries. The package was merely relayed to the Brazilian. As much as they entertained the idea of having all that extra money, they left it in Manchester's and Kaka's hands to get their hands dirty.
If Kaka left, he was painted to be greedy while the English club, a picture of all that is wrong with football and sports today.
Said Garry Cook, Man City Executive Director: "We never met the player, we only met the representatives, we never actually made him an offer on personal terms. We've been to Milan four times and the delegation yesterday involved three lawyers, a board member who had flown from Abu Dhabi, myself and one other senior executive. What they wanted to talk about was; `'how much are you going to pay him?' We chose not to get into that and we didn't make an offer to the player."
For Man City, they have to deal with the ramifications of the failure to sign Kaka for it has reportedly made Robinho, a player they signed out of Real Madrid in the pre-season, unhappy about the collapse. The Brazilian was said to have walked out of training camp.
While they aren't done yet with signings, it looks like there Man City will have to go through another dismal season.
The winner here is Milan which has its reputation still intact.
While money may obviously not be anything, at the end of the day, the silverware that declares a club champions still carries more weight.
Post note: In a few months' time, we'll all be treated to another transfer spectacle when Real Madrid finally lands Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. So how much will the Portuguese winger go for?
He eventually decided to choose his club over cash. Is he wiping the sweat from his brow?
"I listened to my heart," said the Brazilian midfielder.
What many people do not know is how the Kaka Affair also should serve as a lesson on how to win and lose a PR battle. It was at the end of the day another sleek and maybe devious Italian Job.
Clearly, AC Milan knows that they cannot win with the present line-up. The Champions League title in 2007 may have been a last gasp of silverware glory but that it's Internazionale that has been the class of the Serie A in the last three years. And although the nerazzurri seem to be running out of steam they remain the champions until someone can take it away from them.
And charging hard behind is a resurgent Juventus.
Milan has been trying to lure players like David Beckham and Franck Ribery to San Siro but as in the case of the Frenchman, Bayern Munich isn't biting. "Not for sale," they say.
For sale.
Milan could really use the cash from the transfer fee of £108 million but what Silvio Berlusconi and company did was not have Kaka personally meet with Manchester City officials. As such, no personal offer was made but only through intermediaries. The package was merely relayed to the Brazilian. As much as they entertained the idea of having all that extra money, they left it in Manchester's and Kaka's hands to get their hands dirty.
If Kaka left, he was painted to be greedy while the English club, a picture of all that is wrong with football and sports today.
Said Garry Cook, Man City Executive Director: "We never met the player, we only met the representatives, we never actually made him an offer on personal terms. We've been to Milan four times and the delegation yesterday involved three lawyers, a board member who had flown from Abu Dhabi, myself and one other senior executive. What they wanted to talk about was; `'how much are you going to pay him?' We chose not to get into that and we didn't make an offer to the player."
For Man City, they have to deal with the ramifications of the failure to sign Kaka for it has reportedly made Robinho, a player they signed out of Real Madrid in the pre-season, unhappy about the collapse. The Brazilian was said to have walked out of training camp.
While they aren't done yet with signings, it looks like there Man City will have to go through another dismal season.
The winner here is Milan which has its reputation still intact.
While money may obviously not be anything, at the end of the day, the silverware that declares a club champions still carries more weight.
Post note: In a few months' time, we'll all be treated to another transfer spectacle when Real Madrid finally lands Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. So how much will the Portuguese winger go for?
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