Taken from the BBC
Man City in talks over Kaka deal
Kaka has been with Serie A giants AC Milan for six years
Manchester City have opened talks with Italian side AC Milan over the transfer of their Brazilian playmaker Kaka, BBC Radio 5 Live understands.
A report on Mediaset, a website of Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi, says City want Kaka "at all costs".
A delegation from City has reportedly met with their Milan counterparts.
It is reported that the Eastlands club have tabled a bid of £100m and are willing to pay the 26-year-old about £500,000 a week.
The current record for a player's signature is £46m when France's Zinedine Zidane moved from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001.
Kaka joined Serie A giants Milan from Sao Paulo in 2003 and has since won the league title, Champions League and Club World Cup.
The attacking midfielder has also picked up the Ballon d'Or and Fifa World Player of the Year awards in 2007.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, estimated to be worth £15bn, took over as City owner in September 2008 and extensive funds have been made available to manager Mark Hughes.
However, he has only secured the services of Wayne Bridge in January's transfer window, with bids rejected for West Ham forward Craig Bellamy and Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz.
The four-man delegation who travelled to Italy to initiate talks with the Milan officials is reported to include executive chairman Garry Cook and two representatives of the Sheikh.
With the club struggling in 15th position in the Premier League, it would give the club an incredible boost if they were to seal the deal for one of the world's best players.
Having started his career with Sao Paulo where he scored 58 goals, Kaka moved to Milan for £5m and has scored 86 goals in 244 appearances.
Kaka is on a contract at the San Siro until 2013 and although he stated in February that he wanted to remain at Milan for the rest of his career, he did hint at a desire to play in the Premier League - a division he has described as the "best championship in the world".
I love football but this proposed transfer makes me sick to my stomach, £100m for a player!! and £500k wages!!..even if these figures are exagerated it is still a disgusting ammount of money to be thrown at a footballer.
I am not jealous of City or Chelsea or any other club that has a sugar daddy as for me silly money has long been at the root of all that is wrong in our game, from ridiculous ticket prices to over priced merchandise your average fan is fleeced at every opportunity as the game that used to be within reach of every fan now seems to be only available to the elite few.
I would like to see something similar to rugby league where salary caps are enforced and maybe transfers could be set at say £10m at the most so helping a player to join a club he would actually like to play for instead of finances dictating when and where he moves to.
But if I'm honest I am a dinosaur of a football fan and longing for the game to be as honest and straightforward as it was will not bring it back,no I'm afraid the game has done a deal with the devil and I for one dread the day it all goes horribly wrong.
« Last Edit: Jan 14, 2009 09:22:52 am by Glenbuck »
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