At the tender age of 26, the Brazilian football superstar Kaka is the subject of an approach by Manchester City.
Kaka currently plays for AC Milan, one of the most illustrious footballing names on the planet. Milan sit third in Serie A, with Champions League qualification a likelihood again next season. Among Kaka's team mates are Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato, David Beckham and other assorted greats of football, many of whom won the Champions League in 2007.
Manchester City, the world's richest club, have apparently offered €100 million to AC Milan to buy his registration, and a salary of about €500,000 per week to get their man.
At Manchester City, Kaka would find himself 15th in the Premiership, unlikely to be in Europe at all next season and playing with the likes of Robinho, Stephen Ireland and Micah Richards. The last thing Manchester City won? Champions of the second level of English football, currently known as the Championship.
For a player about to enter his prime, what possible attraction could there be for trading AC Milan for Manchester City? Dare I be cynical, but I am not sure I could refuse €500,000 a week.
Showing posts with label manchester city. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manchester city. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Soul-less soccer
Yesterday was the final day of the summer football transfer window - the month long period that clubs have to buy and sell their players. Liverpool bought in three players, one of whom had been on loan last season and has now signed a permanent deal. Probably the biggest sotry of the day though was Manchester City being bought by the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi royal family. As if that wasn't enough, Manchester City go out and immediately splash over $60 million on the Real Madrid forward Robinho. Robinho had been courted by Chelsea for much of the summer, and had even told journalists that he wanted to leave Madrid for the London club as late as Saturday.
This summer has seen once again football transfer fees spiralling out of control, with utterly obscene figures being quoted for various players. apparently Kaka of AC Milan was wanted by Chelsea, who were willing to pay in excess of $150 million, even Liverpool splashed $40 million on Robbie Keane. In order to pay for these exorbitant fees and the salaries which players receive, ticket prices continue to rise, the cost of a replica shirt goes up and more and more ordinary working fans are being squeezed out of the game.
It is getting to the point where you juts have to accept that football has lost its soul, gone are the days when a club like Celtic could win the European Cup with the majority of players coming from with 5 miles of Parkhead. Clubs as famous as Nottingham Forest, who themselves has won the European Cup, have faced bankruptcy in the face and plummeted through the divisions. Today there are teams such as Oxford United who I remember watching on TV as a top flight club playing in the Conference.
It is getting to the point where I often wonder why I bother going along to the pub twice a week to watch a game to watch a group of millionaires flounce around the pitch. Perhaps I am getting to the point where football has outlived its usefulness, no longer is it a conduit for my bad days, no longer doesn't Liverpool beating Manchester United leave me buzzing for days.
But then at the same time the romantic in me can still enjoy the wonders of football. I must admit to having something of an affair with another club, Charleston Battery. Mrs Velkyal and I went to see a match when we were in South Carolina last year, the Battery versus Houston Dynamo. Since then I have kept an eye out for their results, doing very nicely in the USL1 - the American equivalent of the Championship - and tomorrow they will play in the Lamar Open Cup Final against D.C. United of the MSL. This is the American equivalent of the F.A. Cup and I am hoping that Battery will take another scalp and be the first USL side to win the Cup in many a year.
This summer has seen once again football transfer fees spiralling out of control, with utterly obscene figures being quoted for various players. apparently Kaka of AC Milan was wanted by Chelsea, who were willing to pay in excess of $150 million, even Liverpool splashed $40 million on Robbie Keane. In order to pay for these exorbitant fees and the salaries which players receive, ticket prices continue to rise, the cost of a replica shirt goes up and more and more ordinary working fans are being squeezed out of the game.
It is getting to the point where you juts have to accept that football has lost its soul, gone are the days when a club like Celtic could win the European Cup with the majority of players coming from with 5 miles of Parkhead. Clubs as famous as Nottingham Forest, who themselves has won the European Cup, have faced bankruptcy in the face and plummeted through the divisions. Today there are teams such as Oxford United who I remember watching on TV as a top flight club playing in the Conference.
It is getting to the point where I often wonder why I bother going along to the pub twice a week to watch a game to watch a group of millionaires flounce around the pitch. Perhaps I am getting to the point where football has outlived its usefulness, no longer is it a conduit for my bad days, no longer doesn't Liverpool beating Manchester United leave me buzzing for days.
But then at the same time the romantic in me can still enjoy the wonders of football. I must admit to having something of an affair with another club, Charleston Battery. Mrs Velkyal and I went to see a match when we were in South Carolina last year, the Battery versus Houston Dynamo. Since then I have kept an eye out for their results, doing very nicely in the USL1 - the American equivalent of the Championship - and tomorrow they will play in the Lamar Open Cup Final against D.C. United of the MSL. This is the American equivalent of the F.A. Cup and I am hoping that Battery will take another scalp and be the first USL side to win the Cup in many a year.
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