Kaka Reveals He Rejected World-Record Move to Manchester City in 2009

Kaka could have joined Manchester City in 2009 for £100 million, which would have been a world-record fee at the time.

Kaka has revealed that he spurned the opportunity to complete what would have been a then-world record £100m transfer to Manchester City way back in 2009.

The Brazilian playmaker, who now plays in the MLS with Orlando City, admitted that he could have ended up being a Citizen eight years ago if he decided to pursue the eye watering move to Etihad stadium.

In an interview with FourFourTwo, veteran attacker Kaka explained how his seemingly imminent move almost came to be, before his thoughts concerning his family's ability to adapt to the English way of life began weighing heavy on him.

He said: “Negotiations went very far indeed. The only thing separating City and I was my final word. It came to the point where all of the numbers and the finer details had been discussed. The wages I had been offered were much, much higher than what I was earning with Milan.

“I found myself wondering what my life playing in England would be like, what my routine at this new club would be, how difficult it would be for my kids and my wife to move home. All of these thoughts were swirling inside my head.”

Most surprising about the discussions, however, was the manner with which City conducted their talks - the two-time Premier League champions opting to talk to Kaka's then club AC Milan first before they spoke to the player.

Kaka continued: “I’d absolutely no idea that City were interested in signing me until they’d actually made their official offer to Milan. They had gone straight to Milan."

In the end, the 92-times capped international decided that a switch to the Premier League wasn't coming at the right time, and Kaka added why that proved to be the case.

He said: “I came to the conclusion that it was not quite the right time for me to go to City, and the main reason was the uncertainty over the squad-building process. It wasn’t clear to me how the squad would be reshaped and I wasn’t convinced it would work.

“I was being asked to swap one of the most historic and successful clubs in Europe for a team who were only at the beginning of a new project, where I was supposed to be the first big player. It was safer to stay at Milan.”