10 Players You Didn't Know Nearly Signed For AC Milan
6. Franck Ribery
How do you replace the icon of the team, the heart and soul of Milan, the beacon of the club? With Brazilian superstar Kaka looking to be on his way out of the club in a frankly ridiculous £100 million move to Manchester City, the media storm were understandably caught up in that story. What didnt receive as much attention were the Italian giants attempts to fill the void left by the impending departure of the 2007 Ballon dOr winner. A bid of £31 million plus the permanent transfer of Italian full-back Massimo Oddo was put to Bavarian giants Bayern Munich for their own superstar, 25 year old French winger Franck Ribery. With the Germans having already insisted that the Frenchman wasnt for sale, Milan were hopeful that the added cherry of Oddo might sway their opinion on the matter. As it happens, the Kaka transfer fell through - probably when he realised that no amount of money could hide the fact that he would be playing with Darius Vassell, Benjani and Javier Garrido. Subsequently, Milan had no business pursuing Ribery. Having said that, it was merely a stay of execution for the heart of the club, as it would be ruthlessly ripped out by incoming Real Madrid president Florentino President in the summer.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
