Before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ruled football Kaka was the best player in the world and back then Manchester City were on the verge of becoming a big side. They tried to sign the Brazilian but that bid 'messed him up.'
Once upon a time Manchester City were a mid table side who suddenly found themselves with a lot of money to play with as Sheikh Mansour made them essentially the richest club on the planet.
In the summer of 2008 the club made their first statement by beating Chelsea to the signature of Robiho from Real Madrid, as they also threatened to beat Manchester United to Dimitar Berbatov.
Robinho was the first player to arrive in the new City generation. Image: PA Images.
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But for the Premier League side that wasn't enough and they set about trying to sign Kaka from Milan in the January transfer window, willing to break the then world record fee by offering £100 million for him and apparently £500k-a-week wages!
Writing for Four Four Two today the Brazilian revealed that the transfer bid messed him up, saying:
"I was sat at home when the telephone rang - I can still remember it clearly. It was my father and he seemed nervously excited. Then he told me a team in England, Manchester City, had made Milan a huge offer for me.
"Before I could even react, he added that Milan were prepared to accept the bid. I'd had absolutely no idea that Manchester City were interested in signing me until they'd actually made their official offer to Milan.
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"The process had been really different to how these things often work. City didn't talk to my father - who also acted as my agent - first. They'd gone straight to Milan and made their intention clear. Very clear in fact. They made Milan an offer for me, then sat back and asked, 'What do you think?'
"It looked like a new, exciting challenge and a new chapter for me, but it had all come out of nowhere, and very quickly. Soon I started to feel confused and anxious. The situation messed me up."
FIFA's World Player of the Year, see other players can win awards. Image: PA Images.
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Kaka went on to confirm why he didn't move to the Premier League, adding, "I'd finally come to the conclusion that it wasn't quite the right time for me to go to City, and the main reason was the uncertainty over the squad-building process that they were about to undertake."
It wouldn't be too much longer till he did leave the San Siro, making the move to Real Madrid in June 2009 where things never went right for him and he'd eventually move back to AC Milan.
How different things might have worked out.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester City, Serie A, Kaka, Premier League, AC Milan, Real Madrid