AC Milan and Ronaldinho have both seen their stock lower in recent seasons...

Kaka believes that Real Madrid are a bigger club than AC Milan and has admitted he is mystified by Ronaldinho's drop in form in recent seasons.

Los Merengues' Brazilian star is preparing to face his former club only four months after his Milanello departure and while he is looking forward to seeing old friends, he has also stoked things up.

Madrid and Milan both struggled last term wuthout winning silverware, but the Spanish behemoths spent €250 million in the summer and Kaka thinks that they have more global appeal.

"I think Real Madrid are slightly bigger throughout the world because people follow them everywhere. That's the greatest difference between both teams," he told a press conference on Tuesday.

"Milan have always been a strong team in Italy and in Europe. That has changed in the last two years.

"They haven’t been able to beat big teams and perhaps their signing policy has changed. What I gathered during my time there was that it was a good mix of youth and experienced players.

"It will be the first time I play against a former team of mine.  It will be a new experience, but I am a professional and I now play for Real Madrid. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. I will do my very best.

I feel very Madridista. I do my best to win every game with this team because I feel well here. I am grateful to the club for everything they've done for me, both in the past and in the present."

Ronaldinho is being touted as Milan's player to watch in the game against Madrid, but Kaka does not understand why his form dipped so suddenly in recent years.

"Ronaldinho is a different player with the ball at his feet because he can place it wherever he wants.  I would love to have that ability," he continued.

"I don't know what's happened to him or why he's dropped his performance level so much. He hasn't been able to make a difference on the team as he used to do at Barça or with Brazil.

"I think he needs to find motivation in order to be one of the best players in the world."

The Rossoneri will face Real Madrid in tonight’s big Champions League clash between two of the biggest European sides in history.

Milan defender Alessandro Nesta is looking forward to the clash against Real Madrid tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the third matchday of the Champions League group stage.

The Rossoneri will have a difficult time against the high-scoring Merengues, but Nesta does not want to bet on how many goals his team will concede.

“I never bet, not even on the defence and I don’t do them today on the goals that Real could score against Milan,” declared the former Lazio player to Milan Channel.

Nesta then commented Kaka’s declarations about Milan during the press conference.

“Kaka knows us, he fears us, because he knows that in the Champions League we have always done well,” he explained.

“It will be a pleasure to play against him. We will be looking forward to see him. We know that Ricky is quick, it’s true we know that, but those like him are unpredictable players.”

Losing could spell trouble for Milan considering Zurich and Marseille face each other in the other group game of the night.

Ahead of Wednesday’s monster Champions League clash, Carlo Garganese light-heartedly looks at 10 things to expect before, during and after Real Madrid vs Milan…

10) Even though Ronaldo will be in the stands, and not on the pitch, he'll get more camera time than Rino 'scares the kids' Gattuso.

9) Leonardo to spend 89 minutes of the game on the touchline with his hand on his mouth.



8) If Milan win, Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani to declare that Milan are the best team in the world. If Milan lose, Berlusconi and Galliani to remind everyone that Milan are the most successful team in history.



7) Xabi Alonso to play a 40 yard defence-splitting pass for Kaka to score. Kaka to thank God instead of Xabi.


6) Jerzy Dudek to receive some column inches for the first time in his Madrid career by talking about his role in the 2005 final. Still, no one cares to read his interview.



5) SKY Sports England to bill CSKA Moscow v Manchester United as the game of the night. Ronaldo v Milan to be handed just 30 seconds of highlights at the end of the show before Phil Thompson and Jamie Redknapp begin their 'expert' analysis of this weekend's big Hull v Portsmouth match.



4) Florentino Perez to take out a €400 million bank loan at half time, and offer it to Kakha Kaladze to score two own goals.



3) Pippo Inzaghi to be flagged offside 18 times, 17 of which were incorrect calls. Some annoying unoriginal commentator to repeat the Sir Alex Ferguson ‘born in the offside position’ line – just shut up!



2) Klaas Jan Huntelaar to touch the ball just twice during the game - once in the warm-up and once to scratch himself.



1) Berlusconi to host a political orgy after the game, and invite Spain president Jose Luis Zapatero. “Unlike Ronaldinho, I never miss sitters on Zapatero’s bed,” boasts Silvio.


"It's ok Ron. Dida can't use gloves - me neither."

The Bianconeri have given up on Rafinha to focus on the Italian international...

25 Aug 2009 10:00:00

Juventus have abandoned their chase of Schalke's Rafinha and have focused their efforts on landing Fabio Grosso from Olympique Lyonnais.

According to Il Corriere Dello Sport, the Bianconeri are trying to reconcile requirements with budgetary constraints, leading them to give up on €12 million-rated Rafinha.

Coach Ciro Ferrara is working on adding strength to his defence, and Grosso has, once again, popped up on his shortlist. The Italian has been linked with Juve on numerous occasions.

The report suggests La Vecchia Signora cannot stretch to meet Schalke's asking price, and thus Rafinha no longer seems like an option.

Grosso, on the other hand, costs less. Lyon want around €2m, but the Italian side want to bargain and get that price down. However, the French are in no mood to comply.

It is said Juve will try to meet with Lyon's directors at next week's Champions League draw in Monaco in order to discuss Grosso further.

The Serbian stopper dismisses claims he is set to leave Old Trafford...

25 Aug 2009 08:24:49

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has broke his silence amidst speculation surrounding his future, declaring himself happy at the club.

The Serbia international had been linked with moves to Barcelona and Milan, with the Spanish giants believed to be his preferred destination.

The player's agent, Paolo Fabbri, stoked the fire by claiming it was Vidic's dream to play in the Primera Division, before later retracting the statement.

Vidic has dismissed his representative's comments and expressed his full commitment at Old Trafford.

"I've never said anything about Barcelona or Real Madrid or AC Milan - or any club," he said, according to Sky Sports News.

"I never speak about my future so I don't know why someone else does. I showed at Wigan [Athletic] on the pitch how happy I am at this club.

"Any fan of United only has to see how I played to know how committed I am. I spoke with my agent about this and what he said. I know about all the rumours about me but I don't want it to have an impact on the club.

"It's not a good time for my club to be hearing those rumours."

Vidic also spoke out against the rumours suggesting his wife is unhappy with life in England.

"It's not true that my wife is not happy," he added.

"I don't know how that rumour came out, she's not what you'd call a famous wife. She's never spoken to a newspaper."

According to Sky Sport Italia, Real Madrid midfielder Wesley Sneijder is in Milan, and a deal to join Inter is on the verge of being reached...

 Wesley Sneijder's move from Real Madrid to Inter is about to be rubber-stamped after the player touched down in Milan to finalise the move, according to the latest reports in Italy.

Sky Sport Italia claims the Dutch international has been summoned by the Italian club and a deal that will see him play there is on the verge of being agreed.

Earlier reports this morning claimed the Beneamata had reached a transfer fee agreement with Real Madrid believed to be around €15million. But the player's wage demands were holding up the deal.

Sneijder is said to be adamant on earning €4m per season, but Inter were only willing to stretch to €3.5m. It now appears a deal over the wage question has been reached, and voices suggest the move could make further ground within the next few hours.

Negotiations have been rumbling on and an official announcement is expected soon.

Despite Sky Italia's report, Real Madrid, Inter or Sneijder have not confirmed the latest developments just yet.

Despite having a vast catalogue of top European sides chasing his signature, the man dubbed the next Zinedine Zidane, Sofaine Feghouli, appears destined to stay loyal to Grenoble until the end of the season.

Comparisons with the great Zinedine Zidane may be a little premature for 18 year-old attacking midfielder Sofiane Feghouli, however, the Grenoble player already has a lengthy list of clubs chasing him that even the great Zizou would be proud of.

The majority of Europe’s elite sides are represented in the hunt for the French U-21 international, with Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Barcelona amongst a clutch of clubs chasing the highly regarded young talent.

It seems that these teams will have to wait until the summer before a bidding war begins for the Paris-born star as he revealed to 10Sport that he is not prepared to leave the south-east of France before the summer.

“I want to finish the season with Grenoble and do my best to help the club continue in Ligue 1,” he explained. “Personally, I’d like to stay in France. That is my priority. I don’t want to go abroad to be regarded as a player well down the order and rarely play. I need game time and I will leave my advisor to handle these things. For the moment, nothing is concrete.”

The news that Feghouli is receptive to a move to one of Ligue 1’s bigger sides is sure to alert the likes of Olympique Lyonnais, Olympique de Marseille and even hometown club Paris Saint-Germain, all of whom would surely like an additional player of Feghouli’s quality amongst their ranks.

Speculation is rife that Sebastian Giovinco has had enough of sitting in the stands, and is ready to pack his bags and leave Juventus permanently or temporarily in January. Carlo Garganese looks at the top 10 bench-rotting talents in Serie A…

10) Inacio Pia (Napoli) – A very gifted Brazilian frontman, who seems to light up pre-season year after year but then, for one reason or another, is just shifted aside when the campaign starts. This has happened once again this time around, as faced by the competition of Ezequiel Lavezzi, German Denis and Marcelo Zalayeta, Inacio Pia has been afforded just two Serie A starts, as well as five substitute cameos.

9) Franco Semioli (Fiorentina) – Was a feature of the Italy national team squad for a short while under Roberto Donadoni, and is perhaps best remembered for starting against France in a 3-1 Euro 2008 qualifying defeat in Paris. Last season he was a regular for Fiorentina, but this term he has been completely frozen out, making just four appearances. Has been linked with a January move to Roma.

8) Nicolae Dica (Catania) – An extremely talented playmaker, who was tipped for great things earlier in his career. The 28-year-old finally left his homeland of Romania this summer to join Catania, but his time in Sicily has been nothing short of a disaster. He has played just twice in Serie A, one of these from the beginning, and it has already been announced that he will be allowed to leave in January.

7) Bosko Jankovic (Genoa) - The Serbian was rated as one of the best young talents in Europe when he joined Palermo from Mallorca last summer, however he struggled to settle in Sicily, and was hoping that a loan move to Genoa at the end of August would kick-start his Italian career. However, it has been much of the same this season for the 24-year-old attacking midfielder, as he has appeared just once from the start, and four times from the bench.

6) Giampaolo Pazzini (Fiorentina) – Famously became the first player to score a hat-trick at the new Wembley Stadium in 2006/07, playing for the Italy Under-21 team against England. Following this game, Pazzini was hailed by many as the future of the Azzurri attack, but his development has stalled, if not regressed. Last year he was often kept out of the team by veteran Christian Vieri, and this season he has barely got a sniff following the signing of Alberto Gilardino. Will surely consider leaving for the benefit of his career – Roma, Lazio, Sampdoria and Atalanta have all been linked.

5) Pablo Osvaldo (Fiorentina) – Yet another of the wasted Fiorentina brigade, which just shows how much unused attacking talent there is at the Stadio Franchi. Osvaldo scored some crucial goals last season, including a brilliant bicycle kick winner on the final day at Torino that secured La Viola Champions League football. His reward has been a nice cosy place on the substitutes bench. The 22-year-old has made just six appearances, two of these starts.

4) Victor Obinna (Inter) – This player has no one to blame but himself. Obinna was so desperate to leave Chievo this summer that he accepted a move to a place which was so full of attackers that they are literally growing out of the Stadio Meazza pitch. A loan move to Everton fell through on the last minute of deadline day, and the result was Obinna keeping Hernan Crespo company on the bench. The Nigerian is one of Africa’s best young players, and he illustrated just how talented he is during a rare substitute appearance at Roma where he scored a rocket of a goal.

3) Andriy Shevchenko (Milan) – There are some people who believe that Shevchenko will still make a partial success of his return to Milan, and I will not completely rule it out. However, from what we have seen so far, this is looking unlikely. Although Sheva has featured heavily in the UEFA Cup, he has barely been given a chance in Serie A, with just one start against Genoa (during which he was hauled off at half time), and six substitute scraps.

2) Hernan Crespo (Inter) – Another former goal machine who has not hit the back of the net this season. Crespo has made just three brief substitute appearances in Serie A, and was humiliatingly left off Jose Mourinho’s squad list for the Group Stages of the Champions League. If I have done my Maths correctly, Crespo has appeared on the pitch for just 78 minutes this campaign. A possible move to Real Madrid awaits during the transfer window.

1) Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus) – There was only ever going to be one winner in this contest – Sebastian Giovinco. The 21-year-old fantasista has been hailed by many as the future of Italian football, and the heir at Juventus to legendary symbol Alessandro Del Piero. Unfortunately, it appears as if coach Claudio Ranieri is doing his very best to compromise the starlet’s development. Giovinco has started just twice in Serie A, as well as making four paltry substitute appearances, often in the closing moments in games. Even when Juve have had little to play for, such as during the match with Zenit in midweek, Ranieri has still opted to let Giovinco rot on the bench. The youngster is now said to be seriously considering his future with the Bianconeri.

Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón has revealed that the club will be treated to two new winter signings... but he won't say who they are. Unable to get an answer, the Spanish sports dailies have taken matters into their own hands as they begin speculating as to who will arrive.

The latest chapter in the William Gallas story involves the defender being linked with a move to Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur are set to make an audacious bid for Arsenal defender William Gallas, if a report in the Sunday Mirror is to be believed.

The paper claims that Gallas’s future remains unclear after recent events, which have seen him stripped of the club's captaincy and dropped for the game against Manchester City.

Although the defender has since regained his place in the team and looks set to play for the Gunners today against Chelsea, the Mirror suggests that he will shortly depart the Emirates, possibly as early as the January transfer window.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is reportedly prepared to offer Gallas a way out of Arsenal in a move that is likely to rile both sets of supporters and echo Sol Campbell’s switch when he left Spurs to join Arsenal back in 2001.

Gallas never appears to be far away from controversy at the moment having hit the headlines recently after comments made about his team mates riled manager Arsene Wenger and led to him losing the Arsenal captaincy.

Last season the defender’s actions also caused much debate in a match against Birmingham City when Gallas refused to watch a penalty taken against his side and staged his own personal ‘sit in’ after the final whistle.

The centre-back also left Chelsea amid reported accusations that he would score an own goal if he remained at Stamford Bridge and should ensure he receives a hot welcome when he returns to West London this afternoon.

Of course Spurs manager Redknapp has experience of the friction caused when leaving a club to join their local rivals.

The 61-year-old left his role in charge of Portsmouth to join Southampton back in 2004 before moving back to Pompey after a year at St Mary’s and may therefore have no qualms about asking Gallas to swap North London clubs.