Galliani seek Barca starsSunday 24 June, 2007Adriano Galliani reveals why Milan decided to drop David Suazo and Thierry Henry, but confirms they’re seeking a new forward at Barcelona.
It has been an eventful week for the Rossoneri Vice-President. He struck a £10m deal with Cagliari for Suazo only to discover he had already signed for Inter and on Saturday officially relinquished their hold on the Honduran.
“I spoke with President Silvio Berlusconi and he completely agreed with our decision not to get into a bidding war. There was the real risk of a mess emerging. We all liked Suazo, but life goes on,†noted Galliani.
“I spoke to Massimo Moratti many times recently and right from the start I was pleased to see the Nerazzurri did not think we acted unfairly. Milan took the player’s wishes into account and released him without any nasty afters.
“There is too much talk in Italian football and we didn’t need another weight. As a former Lega Calcio President, I can say that a sense of responsibility played a huge part in my decision on Suazo. Can you imagine an appeal to FIFA with the Scudetto winners fighting against the European champions? No, thanks. Better to retire and look ahead.â€
The Rossoneri are certainly doing that, with talk – now confirmed by Galliani – that they will pool all their resources into snatching either Eto’o or Ronaldinho from Barcelona.
“I tell the fans what I already reminded Berlusconi of. In 1986 we lost Gianluca Vialli because he refused the transfer. We didn’t get down in the dumps, instead going to sign Marco van Basten. Perhaps we would have won more with Vialli, but with Marco…
“At the moment Eto’o is not on the market and he says he wants to stay at Barcelona. Eto’o is at the top of our list and I have never hidden that.â€
Galliani has often protested about the different tax breaks that football clubs receive in Italy and around Europe, so it seems once again this could prove decisive – as it already has this summer.
“The problem is the difference in the financial regime in Spain. We experienced the same problem with Henry,†revealed the transfer guru.
“We were very close to the Frenchman and Leonardo had worked hard on convincing him. We would not have had problems handing over £16m to Arsenal, but the £6.7m per season net wages are not sustainable for us. To be clear, Barcelona’s contract with Henry costs them less than £10m gross, but for us the same wages would cost £13.5m.
“Unfortunately, this is the truth now. We have to get used to it. Years back Ajax, Red Star Belgrade and Steaua Bucharest could challenge for the Champions League. Now they have vanished because they can’t sustain certain costs.
“It’ll get worse, as a new Government plan will take away resources from the big clubs to give to the smaller sides. We’ll get a more balanced Serie A, but the decline in Europe could follow.â€
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