Real deak: Kaka turned down an offer to join
Chelsea
Kaka says he turned down Chelsea
before moving from AC Milan to Real Madrid in the summer.
Stamford Bridge boss Carlo Ancelotti tried to convince the Brazil
playmaker to follow him from the San Siro to England, but the
appeal fell on deaf ears.
Kaka, who insists he had no intention of leaving Milan until
their botched attempt to sell him to Manchester
City, was only prepared to consider a move to the
Bernabeu. 'It came to a point where it was better for both Milan
and I to part,' he told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope.
'When Milan opened the doors for me it was a sign. I no longer
shared the same motives as the team. 'And if there came a day when
I had to leave Milan, I had always wanted to play in Madrid. I was
able to go with Ancelotti to Chelsea, but I told him it was my
dream to go to Madrid.'
It was not only Kaka who frustrated Chelsea. Atletico Madrid
recently admitted they received a mega offer from the Blues for
striker Sergio Aguero, while Bayern Munich admit the best bid for
Franck Ribery came from Roman Abramovich's side.
Chelsea's only big-money summer recruit was Yuri Zhirkov, the
Russia winger who signed for £18million from CSKA Moscow, which
raises questions about whether they will look to splash out in
January before the threat of a transfer ban kicks in.
Father figure: Ancelotti tried to persuade Kaka to
follow him from AC Milan to Stamford Bridge
Kaka signed on at Madrid for £56m in June, five months
after refusing to go to City when Milan had accepted a £100m bid.
The 27-year-old has no regrets, though he believes Ancelotti has
made Chelsea the best team in the world right now.
'They have everything. They're playing very well,' he said. The
former Sao Paulo star believes the dominance of English sides will
make it difficult for stuttering Madrid to achieve their target of
winning the Champions League in their own stadium in May.
'The English teams are very difficult (to beat),' he said.
'Also, there are Inter Milan, Juventus and there are always
surprises. We will do everything possible to win at the Bernabeu.
This is the goal for all of us. But we still have to improve a lot
for this to happen.'
Madrid are perceived to be struggling, particularly since
Cristiano Ronaldo was injured in late September, yet they sit top
of La Liga going into Sunday's 'El Clasico' against Barcelona at
the Nou Camp.
Guess who's back? Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to
training after an ankle injury
Ronaldo, back in training, is expected to play some part
in the Champions League match against FC Zurich on Wednesday in
preparation for the big game.
Kaka said: 'Barcelona play better than us because they have
played together for a long time and that makes the difference.
Finding understanding between players takes time.
'So Barcelona play better, but we are better. We are the
leaders.' Kaka has no doubt that Madrid is a place he will 'win
many titles, because it is a great club'.
'Big clubs have cycles,' he added. 'At some point, Real will win
many things. The team needs some time to gel. We're improving, we
have improved a bit from the start of the season until now.
'And we keep improving by playing well and winning each
game.'