Why I rejected Manchester City transfer in 2009, says Kaka

Brazil football star, Kaka has revisited how he rejected a move to play in the Premier League with Manchester City in 2009.

Kaka targeted 2007 Ballon d’Or winner Kaka during the January transfer window of 2009 and after agreeing a world record transfer fee with AC Milan, the player rejected the move after holding talks with his club.

He told Four Four Two: “No, there wasn’t an official approach from Chelsea in 2009 – just informal talks, as Ancelotti was taking charge there and we had a great relationship.

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“The real offer I got from an English club was Manchester City’s, around six months before I moved to Madrid. City were in the early days of their project to become a dominant club in Europe, and they wanted me to be one of their leaders on the pitch. But I didn’t think it was the right time to leave Milan.

“In my mind, Real Madrid was the only club I’d ever consider going to if Milan wanted me to leave. That wasn’t the politics of Milan, though: at the time, it wasn’t common for them to sell big players.

“The first to leave was [Andriy] Shevchenko, but the club didn’t want to let him go. They forced Sheva to make his wish to leave public – he had to announce his intentions in a press conference. It was different in my case.

“When City made the offer, Milan told me they were happy with it and keen to go ahead with the deal, to organise their finances. The doors were open to leave, and I said no. But I also told the club I’d happily go to Real Madrid if an offer came in the next window. It did.”