“Florentino has publicly praised Kaka, calling him exactly the kind of player Real Madrid need, and has reportedly vowed to do everything possible to bring the Son of Jesus to the Santiago Bernabéu!”
“Barcelona have sent representatives to Hawaii to discuss a possible transfer with Kaka’s father and agent.”
“Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has ordered the club to make contact with Kaka’s camp immediately.”
“Ferguson is reportedly closing in on Kaka.
Will the Son of Jesus descend upon Old Trafford?”
“Cristiano Ronaldo interviewed: ‘I’d love to play alongside Kaka.'”
…
The rumours changed by the day.
One morning, reports claimed Florentino had already reached an agreement with AC Milan over Kaka’s transfer.
Milan’s media department rushed out a denial almost immediately, repeatedly insisting that Kaka was not for sale.
Less than two days later, another story appeared claiming Barcelona had met with Bosco and that the talks had gone extremely well.
Then came reports that Chelsea and Manchester United were close to completing a deal.
One moment Kaka was supposedly heading for Stamford Bridge.
The next, he was apparently on his way to Old Trafford.
At this point, nobody knew who was making things up anymore.
Rumours were everywhere.
And Milan’s staff were close to tears.
By now, both the club hierarchy and the supporters had developed an almost instinctive reaction to transfer gossip.
The fans especially.
Every time some newspaper claimed Kaka was joining another club, angry supporters immediately surrounded Milan’s training ground.
They arrived wearing red-and-black shirts.
They held banners reading:
WE WANT KAKA
They sang badly out-of-tune songs insulting Berlusconi.
And they loudly demanded that the club do something before it was too late.
The people running Milan could only suffer in silence.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to act.
The problem was that Bosco kept giving them the same answer.
Kaka was on holiday.
Kaka didn’t want to be bothered.
Kaka didn’t want to discuss these trivial matters right now.
Anyone with eyes could see what was happening.
Bosco was clearly using the interest from other clubs to strengthen his negotiating position.
But that didn’t make things any easier.
The media kept crying wolf every day.
And Milan were genuinely afraid that one day…
The wolf might actually arrive!
If Kaka really left, the supporters might storm the San Siro.
The club understood the danger perfectly well.
Teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona could spend heavily without blinking.
And unlike many clubs in Spain, Italian teams generally didn’t rely on mandatory release clauses in contracts.
So if Kaka genuinely decided he wanted to leave, Milan might struggle to stop him.
That was why Berlusconi issued a simple order to the club hierarchy.
Keep Kaka.
No matter what.
After being brushed off several times by Bosco, and with pressure coming from both Berlusconi and Milan’s increasingly restless supporters, Galliani finally decided enough was enough.
He personally led a delegation to Hawaii.
Time to negotiate face-to-face.
…
By early August, the summer breaks across Europe’s major leagues were beginning to wind down.
And after more than a month of endless transfer speculation, the Kaka saga finally came to an end.
Milan released an official statement.
“AC Milan have reached an agreement with Kaka on a five-year contract extension.”
“Kaka will continue wearing the red-and-black shirt and representing Milan at the San Siro next season.”
“The new agreement runs until 2010.”
“According to reports, Kaka will earn approximately €6 million per year, placing him alongside Shevchenko as one of the highest-paid players at the club.”
When Kaka had gone on holiday, he had handed all negotiations over to his father.
Transfers.
Renewals.
Salary talks.
He barely paid attention to any of it.
As someone who had transmigrated with more than enough financial knowledge and opportunity, money wasn’t exactly something he worried about anymore.
The investment company he’d asked Gaetano to establish had already begun operating.
Every day, money steadily flowed into his accounts.
As long as his father didn’t somehow negotiate him into playing football in the middle of nowhere, Kaka didn’t really care about the rest.
Besides…
He had the system!
His strength would keep improving.
And truly strong players didn’t need to fear their environment.
Milan had kept their star.
The supporters, many of whom had become fanatically devoted to Kaka after the Champions League Final and the Confederations Cup, gathered outside the club.
They sang Milan songs.
They waved flags.
And they repeatedly shouted Kaka’s name.
For them, this contract extension felt almost like another trophy.
Of course, not everyone was celebrating.
Although circumstances had forced Berlusconi to accept a contract worth around €6 million per year, he still privately felt the club had overpaid.
More than once, he reportedly cursed Bosco as a blood-sucking vampire.
As for Real Madrid, Barcelona, and the other clubs that had contacted Kaka’s representatives…
They had no choice but to withdraw.
For now.
And wait for another opportunity.
…
“According to insiders, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich originally wanted to sign both Kaka and Shevchenko from AC Milan, but after repeated failures, he reportedly lost his temper in the office and blasted the club’s recruitment department for incompetence.”
“Ferguson admitted that he personally contacted Bosco and regretted failing to bring Kaka to Old Trafford.”
“Wenger revealed that Arsenal came extremely close to signing Kaka, but insisted the club had no reason to regret missing out.
He claimed Cesc Fàbregas was no weaker than Kaka, that Arsenal’s strongest reinforcement was already in the squad, and urged supporters to come to the stadium and witness the team’s strength in the new season.”
Reading the report, Kaka immediately spat out the water in his mouth and burst out laughing.
As expected of football’s greatest meme factory.
Arsenal truly never disappointed.
Out of ten famous football memes, it sometimes felt like eight somehow belonged to the Gunners.
And with just a few sentences, Wenger had already managed to combine two classics future fans would never stop joking about.
“Wenger almost signed him.”
And: “The best new signing is already at the club.”
Add Fàbregas into the mix, along with several other future Arsenal storylines already beginning to take shape, and Kaka nearly laughed himself sick.
The funniest part was that Wenger had even sold legendary captain Patrick Vieira that summer, partly to create more room for Fàbregas in midfield.
Thinking about everything Arsenal would go through over the next few years, Kaka couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for the old man.
Just a little.
…
With Kaka’s contract extension finally settled, the 2005 summer transfer window also entered its final stages.
There had been no shortage of major moves that year.
Luís Figo, one of Real Madrid’s Galácticos, left the Santiago Bernabéu and joined Inter Milan.
Real Madrid brought in Robinho and Júlio Baptista.
Vieira left the Arsenal side he had captained for years and moved to Juventus.
Michael Owen brought his brief Real Madrid spell to an end and returned to England with Newcastle United.
The former wonderkid’s career had ultimately been ravaged by injuries.
Then there was Sergio Ramos.
The young defender left Sevilla for Real Madrid, a transfer that would eventually give Madrid one of the pillars of their defence for well over a decade.
Milan had been busy too.
They signed Alberto Gilardino from Parma.
The young Italian striker had already established himself as one of Serie A’s most dangerous forwards, finishing among the league’s leading scorers and earning major individual recognition in Italy.
At the same time, Christian Vieri crossed the city on a free transfer from Inter.
Milan also retained Hernán Crespo on loan and added Johann Vogel from PSV Eindhoven on a free transfer.
Between experienced stars, proven Serie A forwards, and bargain signings, Milan were extremely active in the market.
And once again, the red-and-black giants had managed to place themselves right at the centre of European football’s attention.