Kaka's agent details Brazil icon's failed Man City 2009 transfer

Kaka’s agent Gaetano Paolillo has revealed that his client rejected a massive £88m move to Manchester City in 2009 – and also explained how he joined AC Milan partly due to his star sign.

The former Brazilian midfielder was at one time one of the best players in the world, and he won the Ballon d’Or in 2007 after his sensational performances helped Milan triumph in the Champions League.

He was strongly linked with a mega money move to City in the summer of 2009, but ended up at Real Madrid instead.

But in an interview with Milannews, Paolillo said Kaka never wanted to leave the San Siro.

“If it was up to Milan, they would’ve accepted the €100m (£88m) offer from Manchester City, but Kaka absolutely refused to move,” Paolillo said.

“Every year, Real Madrid would ask if Kaka was available, but Milan had always considered him off the market and he wanted to stay too. That was the plan, anyway.

“After his last game with Milan in Florence in 2009, he left for international duty and only took a rucksack. He said we’d meet back at the Malpensa Airport in a month, but Milan sold Ricky (Kaka’s nickname) to Real Madrid when he was in Brazil.

“He never wanted to leave, and the money he earned at Real Madrid wasn’t the issue. He was loved by the fans and more than happy at Milan, but the club put him on the market and at that point Real Madrid was a good option. It wasn’t Galliani’s call either, he loved Ricky.”

Paolillo also told the remarkable tale of how Kaka first joined Milan from Sao Paolo, saying the Italian side were only convinced to sign him in the end due to an astrology chart.

“I even offered him to Inter at one point, but Hector Cuper didn’t know what to do with Kaka in a 4-4-2 formation,” Paolillo added. “Nobody else was really interested, which I found incredible.

“In the end, (Milan lawyer Leonardo) Cantamessa even did Kaka’s astrological chart and said we had to sign him, because the stars were shining on this player. After sporting director Ariedo Braida was won over, we got Galliani on board.”