EXCLUSIVE: City make amazing £100million bid for AC Milan superstar Kaka...and they'll pay him £500,000 a week



Manchester City believe they are close to pulling off the most astonishing transfer coup in football history after they offered AC Milan £100million in cash for Kaka on Tuesday afternoon.

A four-man delegation, led by chief executive Garry Cook, met senior officials at Milan’s headquarters with the authority to offer a personal cheque from Sheik Mansour for the Brazilian superstar.

The Abu Dhabi billionaire is prepared to make Kaka the world’s highest-paid player

on £15million a year after tax, the equivalent of £500,000 a week gross.

Who would you spend £100m on in the transfer window? Is Kaka the best in the world, or should City be turning their attention elsewhere?

Send us your views at the bottom of the page...



Lord's prayer: Kaka celebrates after AC MIlan beat Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League Final

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s Prime Minister and Milan’s owner, has resisted previous

attempts to lure Kaka from San Siro, insisting repeatedly that he is not for sale

at any price.

By Tuesday, however, his remains a player we are not going to sell,’ he said, seemingly resigned to the fact that City’s money was going to prove impossible to resist.

By Tuesday night Berlusconi had gone a step further by giving authorisation for details of yesterday’s meeting to appear on the official website of his media group.

A report named all the individuals involved and suggested Milan had taken ‘official notice’ of City’s offer.

‘This time they (Manchester City) are here for real with an official delegation,’ said the report.

‘Manchester City want Kaka at all costs and they have shown their cards. Garry Cook, two representatives of Sheik Mansour and Kia Joorabchian, who is acting as a mediator, met with Adriano Galliani and Ernesto Bronzetti (Milan’s chief executive and commercial director) and made their offer.’

City’s delegation returned to Manchester last night and as yet they have held no official discussions with the 26-year-old Kaka, who won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA’s world player of the year award for 2007.

Kaka played for AC Milan against Portsmouth in their recent UEFA Cup clash

Again, City hope an offer that is only on the table for the January transfer window will prove impossible for Kaka to resist.

Perfect pair: Kaka poses with his bride Caroline Celico during their wedding in Sao Paulo in 2005

But they have nevertheless enlisted the help of Joorabchian, who represents Sport Invest and has already succeeded in delivering Robinho to Eastlands thanks to his close links with top South American players.

Even so, observers in Italy consider it unthinkable that Kaka would trade Milan for a club that has just lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest and has dropped into a relegation battle. City also asked about Milan goalkeeper Dida on Tuesday, while maintaining their interest in Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker of West Ham, presumably for a lot less money.

Cook and his colleagues nevertheless returned from Milan in confident mood.

Money, they believe, will talk on this occasion and manager Mark Hughes is already

understood to be thinking of Kaka in terms of the Premier League game with Newcastle on January 28.

Kaka kisses the Confederations Cup with would-be City team-mate Robinho and Ronaldinho in 2005

Their chances of success are also enhanced by the fact that Kaka has expressed a desire to play in England which would have been strengthened by the sight of two players from the Premier League - Ronaldo and Fernando Torres - finishing ahead of him at Monday’s FIFA world player of the year gala.

It also helps City that Kaka is no longer the darling of the San Siro. That position is now occupied by Pato.

Even David Beckham would now appear to appeal more to Berlusconi.

Add to that the fact that Kaka has won every major trophy with Milan and a desire to pursue new challenges could appeal.



He is also aware of his commercial worth and is not averse to cashing in on his fame. Married with a seven-month-old child, the devout evangelical Christian is one of the faces of adidas and also has a modelling contract with Armani.



For City, and in particular for Sheik Mansour, he is the box-office player they have been searching for since the takeover last summer.

Sportsmail revealed a desire to land a global name in this transfer window and Kaka amounts to the biggest name they could have realistically targeted among the players on the stage at the Zurich Opera House on Monday night.

Kaka could be about to swap the famous red and black of AC Milan for the blue of Manchester City

Manchester United never would have allowed Ronaldo to move across the city, while Torres would have rejected the opportunity to walk away from Liverpool when they lead the Premier League and his bond is so strong with fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez.

If one ignores Xavi - as City clearly have - Lionel Messi would have been the only other option but luring the Argentina winger would have proved impossible when Barcelona sit 12 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league.

Other unrealistic targets included David Villa of Valencia and even Chelsea’s John Terry.

In Kaka, however, they have the chance of pulling off a deal that may have seemed impossible, albeit one for whom they will have to smash the world transfer record, and the player wages record, to sign.

Milan might have gained revenge against Liverpool by winning the Champions League in 2007 but Carlo Ancelotti’s side have lost their way since then.

Only recently they appeared at Portsmouth in the UEFA Cup and they are currently third in Serie A, nine points adrift of Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan.

In Milan, Cook and his colleagues also have a club prepared to sell.

According to the report, AC Milan rejected the advances of Harry Redknapp yesterday when the Tottenham manager offered Heurelho Gomes and Gareth Bale for their second-string goalkeeper, Christian Abbiati.

But they will sell Kaka if £100million in cash is on the table.

Kaka at the FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich on Monday with Xaxi, Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Now it is simply a case of persuading Kaka that his future, and the future of his young family, is in the north west of England.

Another City target, Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz believes Rovers want £25m before they would agree to sell him.

City have so far offered £16m for the 27-year-old but have been told to come back with more.

Santa Cruz told Futbol a lo Grande in South America yesterday: ‘I thought that when City offered £16m it was going to be accepted. I hear all the time that the club asked for £20m and I don’t know if Manchester City offered that. But for £25m they have said that I will be allowed to leave.’

City were very close to completing the £10m arrival of Bellamy from West Ham on Tuesday night.



