transfer window wide open last night with a last-ditch attempt to lure Kaká away from a move to Real Madrid.

The Spanish club have an agreement in place with AC Milan to sign the Brazil forward for a staggering €65 million (£56.2 million). Real had offered the player a five-year contract on a salary of £150,000 a week after tax. However, sources in Milan said that Chelsea — who were also targeting Andrea Pirlo — had offered the player “extraordinary” personal terms after they were advised that there was a hitch in the Kaká deal.

The news of the tense negotiations came only hours after Gareth Barry, the England midfield player, left Aston Villa to join Manchester City for a fee of £12 million.

Chelsea will try to persuade Kaká to come to Stamford Bridge and join up with Carlo Ancelotti, his former coach at the San Siro who is now in charge at the Barclays Premier League club.

Kaká, who is on international duty, is believed to favour Real, but, in a further twist last night, Bosco Leite, the player’s agent and father, halted talks with the Spanish club after the interest shown by Chelsea and disagreements over his agent’s commission.

The transfer had earlier been thrashed out by Leite, Florentino Pérez, the newly returned Madrid president, and Adriano Galliani, the Milan vice-president. The Italian club, however, claimed last night that Galliani was in Spain purely as a guest at Pérez’s inauguration dinner.

The dramatic events come after Kaká had reiterated his desire to stay in Italy. “I say it for the last time: I don’t want to leave Milan,” he insisted.

Pérez seems determined, however, to recreate his infamous galácticos regime at the Bernabéu. He is expected to follow up the move for Kaká with a ¤45 million swoop for Franck Ribéry, the Bayern Munich winger, although, incredibly, that may still not be enough to end Pérez’s interest in Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United forward.

Pérez risked incurring the wrath of United by claiming that he would have no hesitation paying more than ¤80 million for the Portugal player.

“I have not seen anything about him \ that would prohibit him from playing at Real Madrid,” Pérez said. “What I am sure of is that which seems expensive is the cheapest. Without knowing who we can get, there will be a massive effort for the great players of the world because that is the Real Madrid model.”

The events on the Continent served to overshadow City’s capture of Barry, who reneged on his very public claims that he wanted to leave Villa for a club offering Champions League football by shunning Liverpool and signing a five-year deal with City worth close to £100,000 a week.

“It didn’t take much persuasion from Mark Hughes,” Barry, 28, said after passing a medical. “They are heading in the direction I want to go.”

The news brought a humiliating end to Rafael Benítez’s tortuous year-long pursuit of the England midfield player and the Liverpool manager’s misery is expected to be compounded by the likely departure from Anfield of Xabi Alonso, the Spain midfield player, this summer. He, too, may join Real, whose spending could end up surpassing the ¤200 million mark.

City’s summer spree will also continue as Hughes seeks to secure deals for Joleon Lescott, the Everton defender, and Carlos Tévez, the Manchester United forward. “I was looking to get a number of deals done as soon as possible and we have had a great start with Gareth joining us,” Hughes said. “I hope we can conclude some more so that when we come back for pre-season training, we have everybody fit and well and set for a successful campaign.”

Tévez’s future is likely to be resolved today during talks with David Gill, the United chief executive, and Kia Joorabchian, who owns the Argentina player’s economic rights.

United have so far balked at meeting the £25.5 million fee agreed with Joorabchian two years ago and, barring a surprise about-turn from the Premier League champions, City are likely to beat Liverpool to the player’s signature in a deal that would cost almost £54 million over four years.

Hughes is expected to make an opening bid of about £12 million for Lescott, but David Moyes, the Everton manager, is fiercely opposed to selling the England defender and is unlikely to consider accepting a bid of anything less than £20 million

CHELSEA failed with a spectacular bid to land Kaka last night, as the Brazilian joined Real Madrid for a world record £62million.


New Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti tried desperately to bring Kaka with him from AC Milan to Stamford Bridge.


But he was powerless to stop new Real president Florentino Perez sealing the deal.


As SunSport exclusively revealed, Chelsea will now go all out for Milan striker Alexandre Pato - though an initial £30m offer has been rejected.


Perez staged his Kaka coup after intense talks with Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani.


A Chelsea source confirmed: "Mr Ancelotti tried very, very hard to get Kaka to begin the new era at the club.


"But in the end Real Madrid had more money to spend. Now Chelsea are even more determined to get Pato."


Kaka's dad Bosco Leite helped the player thrash out personal terms.


The negotiations took place a day after Perez was confirmed as Real president after all rival candidates quit the race.


Kaka, 27, had tried to deny a deal was on, insisting he wanted to stay at the San Siro.


The Samba superstar was on his way back to Brazil to join up with the national team while his dad was negotiating a deal believed to be worth £160,000 a week with the Spaniards.


Kaka's £62m move will eclipse the £47m Perez paid Juventus for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.


Milan are still open to offers for striker Pato - as long as Chelsea now increase their £30m opening bid.

Galliani in Madrid to attend Perez celebration, not to discuss deal

AC Milan have refuted suggestions that Brazilian playmaker Kaka is in talks with Real Madrid.

Reports on Tuesday suggested the Rossoneri had reached an agreement with their Spanish counterparts regarding the sale of their South American superstar.

An offer of around £65million was believed to have been agreed, with Kaka set to hold talks with Real in order to thrash out personal terms.

The former World Player of the Year has been strongly linked with a move to the Primera Liga for some time, with Madrid widely touted as his likely destination.

Those rumours have intensified of late, following Florentino Perez's return to the Real presidential hot-seat.

The new Santiago Bernabeu supremo has made no secret of his admiration for Kaka in the past, and was said to have held talks with Milan general manager Adriano Gailliani about a summer swoop.

However, Milan insist their man was in Madrid this week after being invited to attend a dinner with Perez to celebrate his return to power, not to discuss any potential deal for Kaka.

A statement released by the club read: "The general manager of the Rossoneri, Adriano Galliani, is in the city of Madrid exclusively for the investiture dinner of Florentino Perez, the new president of Real Madrid."

GERMANY: Bayern Munich are looking to sign Jose Bosingwa from Chelsea for a cut-price £12m if the Blues do sign Glen Johnson. If Chelsea do not buy the England right-back, Bayern will go for him instead with Liverpool unable to compete financially for the moment (Daily Mail). Do you think Chelsea should sell Bosingwa and buy Johnson?

THE BEST OF THE REST: Frank Rijkaard is appointed Galatasaray manager following the resignation of Bulent Korkmaz. A big, big coup for the Turks, who were also sounding out Fatih Terim for the job. The Istanbul giants finished a poor fifth this season.

Linked to Milan have been several defenders, to plug the gap in their ageing, Maldini-free back line. Palermo starlet Simon Kjaer, Chelsea's Alex and Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic are all possible targets.

Chelsea could gazump Real Madrid's interest in David Villa with a £35m bid for the Spain striker, who wants to stay in his homeland but pretty much has to leave cash-strapped Valencia. Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue, meanwhile, is a target for Atletico Madrid, while relegated Recreativo are set to sell striker Camunas to Villarreal and Alou Diarra could leave Bordeaux for Sevilla.

Real Madrid will turn to Cristiano Ronaldo and David Silva (£20m) after they seal the Kaka deal. They are understood to have upwards of £200m to spend this summer and new chairman Florentino Perez wants to bring "the best players in the world" to the Bernabeu (The Times, Daily Mail). United will demand £75m for Ronaldo though, which would see them go for Luis Antonio Valencia (Wigan, £17m), Franck Ribery (Bayern, £35m) and Carlos Tevez (MSI, £25m).

Ross Turnbull hands in a transfer request to leave relegated Middlesbrough. The young English keeper started last season as number one but lost his place to Aussie Brad Jones. He is apparently a Chelsea target, as back-up for Petr Cech.

The move for Bentley implies that Martin O'Neill is expecting Ashley Young to be snapped up by a bigger club, with the Daily Mirror saying Chelsea are preparing a £20m bid for the England winger-forward. Young, who can play wide or through the middle, would ideally suit Carlo Ancelotti's 4-2-3-1 formation and with a move for Kaka looking less likely, buying British would keep the fans happy.

It seems unlikely as, while he struggled at first, under Guus Hiddink Florent Malouda looked a quality player. But rumours in cyberville claim that Chelsea are "locked in talks" with Milan over his transfer, which we assume would facilitate a bid for Alexandre Pato or, gulp, Kaka.

Following Tottenham's derisory £8m-plus-David-Bentley bid yesterday, Chelsea have emerged as the new favourites to sign Aston Villa's Ashley Young, with a figure of £20 mooted for the winger in that bastion of middle England, the Daily Mail.

There are conflicting reports over Portsmouth's Glen Johnson. The News of the World reckons Liverpool are favourites to land him for £10m, but the Star claims Chelsea will get him for £16.5m. Who knows what to believe?

Also in the papers, Manchester City are set to offer defender Micah Richards as a makeweight in a player-plus-cash deal for Everton's Joleon Lescott. City are reportedly willing to double Lescott's £45,000-a-week wages.

Johnson reportedly had several rifts with José Mourinho, most notably when he forgot his passport for the second leg of the Champions League match against Barcelona. In an interview with Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday programme, he claimed this story to be mis-reported. He claimed that Chelsea lost his passport, rather than him mislaying it.