Kaka Does Milan A Financial Favour

All aboard the transfer merry-go-round, as it has officially started up again for another off-season, with transfer fees showing no sign of reducing, despite city analysts’ insistence we’re in an economic downturn.

This week the seemingly unshakably loyal Kaka moved to from AC Milan to Real Madrid for a fee of £56 million, which is world record in pounds sterling due to the current exchange rate and comfortably beats the £45.6m Real paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.

Despite many exclamations that he was happy as a Milan player and that he had no desire to leave, the power of money has seemingly spoken as he prepares himself to appear in returning Real president Florentino Perez’s Galcticos mark II.

It is not the money for him though that has appealed, as he has put it down to an act of generosity on behalf of his former employers, telling the BBC “I wanted to stay but the world crisis affected my decision,” he said. “I knew I’d only leave Milan to play for Real.”

What a kind hearted soul, although being the sceptic I am, I imagine that there was certainly a financial cherry on top of a very large cake for him also.

The fact that the only other potential suitors were Manchester City, the option of a move to Real seemed the only sensible choice and whilst City have a greater punch financially, they are a long way short of assembling a team of world class players to rival Real’s.

If Mark Hughes’ side had already amassed their army of Galctico’s (or whatever the Mancunian word for this is) then they could well have been a consideration for Kaka, but a ramshackle collection of players and a disappointing mid-table finish is certainly far below the Brazilians par.

Despite their whopping £100 million bid in January it seems that City weren’t even in the running, as Kaka claimed his move to Spain has been a long time coming.

“I’ve been weighing up the offer from Real Madrid a lot,” he confirmed.

“It’s an important project for me to continue growing in my career. I’m not going to Real Madrid for money, as I had other offers.”

“But the deal was sealed a long time ago. I wanted this move to be announced sooner. For me, it’s a relief that it has been announced now.”

He is far too nice to be a footballer. Where’s the cold hearted ruthlessness of Ronaldo seeking a move to Real? Or the two-faced lying of Gareth Barry claiming he wanted Champions League football, before following the money from Aston Villa to City?

He must surely admit that the move offers some benefit to him however there isn’t too much to choose between the two sides, as they failed to win their domestic league or the Champions League, but they both have infinite potential to succeed in the future. A move does though offer Kaka a fresh chance to improve himself and impress himself on a new audience, with the goal of proving his world-class ability and cementing his already lofty reputation.

The return of Florentino Perez and his pledge to bring more world class players to the club could have been the deciding factor in his move, plus the fact that he wanted to help Milan out financially. Mark Hughes’ side did not even enter the equation, although if he had really wanted to help Milan’s bank balance he would have accepted the £100 million move to Eastlands in January.

“Manchester City and Real Madrid are two different clubs with different situations,” he explained.

“At that time, it was mid-season, I had a strong emotional impact due to the Italian fans requesting me to stay and I decided to stay.

“Now another chance came up and AC Milan is in a big crisis [financially]. For me, the sporting project at Madrid is interesting and will be an important boost to continue my career at the highest level.”

In his previous spell as President, Perez was a fan of spending big, bringing in Ronaldo from Inter for £23.2m, David Beckham from Manchester United for £24.5m and Luis Figo from rivals Barcelona for £37m. This tactic eventually resulted in his departure from the club when results did not go Real’s way, despite the world class players available and seemingly having not learned from his past error, he appears intent on sticking to his original formula for success.

As a first purchase it is definitely a biggun and is a new world record in pounds sterling, but it isn’t hasn’t broken the record in Europe as the fee of 65m euros is 8m short of the previous record of 73m, but due to the fluctuation in exchange rates it represents the most in pound sterling.

Kaka is the first to sign up to the reincarnation of Perez’s Galacticos dream, which aims at domestic and European domination. The Brazilian though has already tasted considerable success at the San Siro, having won the 2007 Champions League, European Super Cup, World Club Cup, Seria A title and has been crowned as Fifa World Player Of The Year during his time at Milan, so his expectations of what he can achieve “at the highest level” with Real will have to surpass what he has already accomplished.

Having left Milan “by the front door” as he phrased it, the playmaker will be sorely missed by Milan and an emotional and thankful statement on the club website read:

“It will be very difficult to fill the void that will be left by Kaka. We offer him the most cordial and affectionate wishes for the continuation of his sporting career. He is a shining example of professionalism and commitment. AC Milan thank the man and the great champion Kaka for his decisive contribution to the many victories achieved in the six years of his commitment.”

Slightly less passionate is Real’s welcome, which has all the clinicism and coldness of Depeche Mode’s latest single.

“He is a Real Madrid player now after an agreement was reached with AC Milan. The Brazilian has passed all the tests of the medical examination satisfactorily. Kaka has signed a contract with Real Madrid for the next six seasons.”

Real’s statement does exactly what it says on the tin, but it hardly feels like a welcoming new home compared to the San Siro. He will settle quickly though and the warmth will surely come as his ability will shine through, but the intrigue lies in who will be joining him and whether the Brazilians star will shine the brightest at the Bernabeu.

Posted By Dan Mobbs - Wednesday June 10, 2009.
Tags: Kaka, Real Madrid