City shelve Kaka deal

City confirmed in a statement on Monday night they had pulled out of negotiations as there was little chance of a deal being done.

Executive chairman Garry Cook told www.mcfc.co.uk: "Whilst Manchester City Football Club has an obvious interest in world-class players of the quality of Kaka, we owe it to our fans that such a transfer must work on every level; commercially, financially, in terms of results on the field and within Manchester City's broader community."

The dramatic development came at the end of a day when it seemed Kaka was moving tantalisingly close to joining the Eastlands outfit.

Cook, along with other members of the City delegation, had meetings with Milan officials and Kaka's father, Bosco Leite, on Monday.

But it soon became apparent that the complexity of the transfer was not going to work in City's favour and the player, who never spoke face-to-face with the Blues, was not keen on leaving Milan anyway.

Kaka had pointed to his heart when appearing at the window of his house to wave at protesters who had gathered outside to make their feelings known tonight.

The move was slightly ambiguous but, just minutes before City's statement, Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi delivered the news all Rossoneri supporters wanted to hear.

"Kaka is staying at Milan," he told Italia 7 TV.

"He has turned down the money and he won't ask for an increase. He prefers to stay at Milan."