[Zed.D]

Berlusconi Rejected Chance To Sign Buffon

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had a pre-contract deal to sign for Milan this summer but Rossoneri President Silvio Berlusconi pulled the plug on the deal.

According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Buffon had agreed a four-year contract, worth €6m a season, but Berlusconi stopped the transfer from going through because it would have cost him €25m.

Instead the former Prime Minister of Italy wanted to spend this money on renewing the contract of Brazilian keeper Dida, and bringing in youngster Alexandre Pato and midfielder Emerson.

Milan fans will surely be dismayed by the news that Buffon could have signed for the club. So far this season Dida has made a number of high-profile mistakes, particularly during the week three draw against Siena, while 31-year-old Emerson looks a shadow of the once great player he was.

The Milan hierarchy have been criticised enormously for their transfer policy over the summer, with the failure to bring in a top-class striker and a decent back-up goalkeeper the main points of condemnation.

These latest reports that Berlusconi turned down the chance to sign the undisputed number-one goalkeeper in the world, will certainly not go down well with the supporters.

goal.com

[Jack Sparrow]

No, Milan is not Liverpool. I don't care if they shipped off Dudek. I don't care about Liverpool and maybe I'm arrogant to say this but Milan is above all that and really does not have to look for examples. We are strong enough with our own methods. And what if we are in a crisis right now? For the past 7 years I (we) had so many good moments with our team and I really wasn't so hard to be a fan. Imagine how it felt to be a Fiorentina fan? Or even a Liverpool fan. They had in their last 7 years many black periods. So whatching Milan right now playing bad and doing not so good is not that hard for me. It makes my love to the club even stronger,...

Very succinctly put. We complain that Milan places too much sentimentality on players and blah blah, how we shouldn't really show gratitude for services rendered. Well it's this Milan's attitude that meant, players in the midst of the calciopoli, said they'd stay on even if we were relegated.

Baresi stayed on in Serie B. You think it was coz he wouldn't have any takers outside Milan?

I admit, sometimes we are lost for the reasons why some players still stick on, but as a club we have a tradition for valuing loyalty, even if the player concerned is no longer at his peak. This for me is a huge reason why I support the club, and while you can deal with one season of poor performance, a shallow act like a knee jerk dismissal from Milan would be a little harder to digest.

[MizNelson]

In fact, Buffon kept the Juve management and tifosi in the dark about his decision to continue with Juve, until we won the CL. When that happened, Berlusconi had to renew Dida's contract, not because it was cheaper, but because he helped his team win the cup!

Dida renewed his contract two and a half months before we won in Athens.

[Rossoneri7]

Dida renewed his contract two and a half months before we won in Athens.

Thank u for clearing that up. But fact remains, Berlusconi was ready to take Buffon and Juve couldn't have done anything. Since we won that CL, as a tradition in this club, we remain faithful to our players.