Earlier this month, Brazil centre-back Thiago Silva was reportedly on the verge of signing for big-spenders Paris SG for a fee in the region of €50 million.
Although Barca and Man. City showed great interest, Paris SG went closest to prise Silva away from the San Siro.- Antoine Dalli
All seemed set for the transfer to be sealed but at the 11th hour AC Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi intervened and called off the transfer... at least for the time being.
The former Fluminense and Porto defender was offered a pay package more than double to what he is currently getting from the Rossoneri. So, one expects more contract negotiations at Milan this summer to improve the player’s earnings and keep him happy where he is.
Carlo Ancelotti, who coached Milan between 2001 and 2009, wanted Silva at all costs.
In him, he saw an ideal player to transform his defensive department into an impregnable fortress on which to build the solid foundations of a new-look Paris SG whose main objective is to end an 18-year title drought.
Paris SG’s fortunes changed dramatically when Qatar Investment Authority took over in 2011.
All of a sudden, the two-time French champions had the financial muscle to attract the best players to their fold.
Leonardo is in charge of their transfer dealings and he knows what Silva is made up of as he coached the Rossoneri when the Brazilian defender was around.
This time last year, Leonardo quit Inter to join PSG.
His first signings were keeper Salvatore Sirigu and Javier Pastore, from Palermo, and Thiago Motta, formerly of Inter.
Silva has been in incredible form since joining Milan in 2009 and coach Massimiliano Allegri considers him to be Alessandro Nesta’s long-term replacement at the heart of their defence.
Silva’s flawless displays in the Serie A did not pass unnoticed as in recent months, Barcelona and England champions Manchester City were also reported to have moved heaven and earth in order to secure his signature.
Although Barca and Man. City showed great interest, Paris SG went closest to prise Silva away from the San Siro.
At one point, Milan were also toying with the idea of offering Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the Parisiens for a global fee of around €80 million to get the two stars.
Had Milan concluded that mega-deal, they would have sent the wrong signals because a club harbouring aspirations to challenge for major trophies cannot afford to offload two players of that calibre.
Such great players are hard to replace unless the club is ready to spend big on the transfer market. However, it would be a serious mistake if Milan were to assume that by simply having rejected PSG’s multi-million offer, they have automatically become invincible again.
Selling Silva and Ibra would have been justifiable only if Milan were ready to invest the proceeds derived on the market and rejuvenate their squad.
However, for the time being that option was not taken by Berlusconi. He will rightly argue that keeping Silva and Ibrahimovic where they are will represent Milan’s best ‘signings’ for the new season.
In this off-season, Milan have already parted with Nesta, Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso, Mark van Bommel and Filippo Inzaghi, all well in their 30s and past their peak.
However, Milan still need to find suitable replacements to bridge the gap with Juventus in the Serie A and the likes of Chelsea, Man. United, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona in Europe.