Chelsea blew the summer transfer window wide open last night with a last-ditch attempt to lure Kaká away from a move to Real Madrid.
The Spanish club have an agreement in place with AC Milan to sign the Brazil forward for a staggering €65 million (£56.2 million). Real had offered the player a five-year contract on a salary of £150,000 a week after tax. However, sources in Milan said that Chelsea — who were also targeting Andrea Pirlo — had offered the player “extraordinary” personal terms after they were advised that there was a hitch in the Kaká deal.
The news of the tense negotiations came only hours after Gareth Barry, the England midfield player, left Aston Villa to join Manchester City for a fee of £12 million.
Chelsea will try to persuade Kaká to come to Stamford Bridge and join up with Carlo Ancelotti, his former coach at the San Siro who is now in charge at the Barclays Premier League club.
Kaká, who is on international duty, is believed to favour Real, but, in a further twist last night, Bosco Leite, the player’s agent and father, halted talks with the Spanish club after the interest shown by Chelsea and disagreements over his agent’s commission.
The transfer had earlier been thrashed out by Leite, Florentino Pérez, the newly returned Madrid president, and Adriano Galliani, the Milan vice-president. The Italian club, however, claimed last night that Galliani was in Spain purely as a guest at Pérez’s inauguration dinner.
The dramatic events come after Kaká had reiterated his desire to stay in Italy. “I say it for the last time: I don’t want to leave Milan,” he insisted.
Pérez seems determined, however, to recreate his infamous galácticos regime at the Bernabéu. He is expected to follow up the move for Kaká with a ¤45 million swoop for Franck Ribéry, the Bayern Munich winger, although, incredibly, that may still not be enough to end Pérez’s interest in Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United forward.
Pérez risked incurring the wrath of United by claiming that he would have no hesitation paying more than ¤80 million for the Portugal player.
“I have not seen anything about him \ that would prohibit him from playing at Real Madrid,” Pérez said. “What I am sure of is that which seems expensive is the cheapest. Without knowing who we can get, there will be a massive effort for the great players of the world because that is the Real Madrid model.”
The events on the Continent served to overshadow City’s capture of Barry, who reneged on his very public claims that he wanted to leave Villa for a club offering Champions League football by shunning Liverpool and signing a five-year deal with City worth close to £100,000 a week.
“It didn’t take much persuasion from Mark Hughes,” Barry, 28, said after passing a medical. “They are heading in the direction I want to go.”
The news brought a humiliating end to Rafael Benítez’s tortuous year-long pursuit of the England midfield player and the Liverpool manager’s misery is expected to be compounded by the likely departure from Anfield of Xabi Alonso, the Spain midfield player, this summer. He, too, may join Real, whose spending could end up surpassing the ¤200 million mark.
City’s summer spree will also continue as Hughes seeks to secure deals for Joleon Lescott, the Everton defender, and Carlos Tévez, the Manchester United forward. “I was looking to get a number of deals done as soon as possible and we have had a great start with Gareth joining us,” Hughes said. “I hope we can conclude some more so that when we come back for pre-season training, we have everybody fit and well and set for a successful campaign.”
Tévez’s future is likely to be resolved today during talks with David Gill, the United chief executive, and Kia Joorabchian, who owns the Argentina player’s economic rights.
United have so far balked at meeting the £25.5 million fee agreed with Joorabchian two years ago and, barring a surprise about-turn from the Premier League champions, City are likely to beat Liverpool to the player’s signature in a deal that would cost almost £54 million over four years.
Hughes is expected to make an opening bid of about £12 million for Lescott, but David Moyes, the Everton manager, is fiercely opposed to selling the England defender and is unlikely to consider accepting a bid of anything less than £20 million.
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