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Milan declare Kaka not for sale

19 July 2008 | 18:19 - PA Sport

London calling... Kaka has been linked again with Chelsea (Getty Images)

AC Milan insist that superstar Kaka is not for sale despite media reports linking the Brazilian with a world record 100 million euro ($163m) move to Chelsea.

A London newspaper report claims the FIFA World Player of the Year was the subject of discussions between the Premier League club and the Italian giants this week.

The Italians secured the signing of the 26-year-old's international teammate Ronaldinho on Wednesday despite their well-publicised financial difficulties and Kaka's personal assistant Diogo Kotscho is adamant all parties involved now want the deal to go through.

The Serie A side was forced to release a statement in response to comments from Kotscho, who also claimed on Saturday the player had set his heart on move to Stamford Bridge.

Kaka reportedly was irritated by the club's refusal to let him play for Brazil in the Olympics, followed by their agreement to let Ronaldinho go to Beijing.

"Real Madrid offered 90 million euros ($145m) last summer and Milan did not even think about the bid," Kotscho was quoted as saying in The Guardian.

"This time is different. This is the first time we feel that a deal will definitely happen.

"Because of the situation Milan are in at the moment, the deal is good for all parties involved.

"The move would represent a significant increase in Kaka's salary, on top of the 10 per cent transfer fee that goes straight to the player anyway - some 15 million euros.

"Chelsea are the club to be at right now. They are building a team to win everything."

But although Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani revealed this year the Premier League side had made an astronomical bid to sign the 26-year-old, the Rossoneri have again ruled out selling their most prized asset.

A Milan statement on Saturday read: "Regarding the comments published in today's The Guardian newspaper, Milan director of communications Vittorio Mentana reiterates that Kaka is absolutely not for sale."

The Brazil international is under contract with the Milan club until June 2013.

Any deal for arguably the planet's best player seems certain to break the world record transfer fee of $94m set when Real Madrid signed Zinedine Zidane from Juventus in 2001.

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