Ozil and Kaka : A Tale Of Two Transfers

Kaka

It’s time bid adieu to the silly season, that wonderful time of the year when logic goes out of the window and Twitter becomes the fount of all human knowledge. As always, most bosses sat on their proverbial haunches (with the purse firmly lodged beneath it) and refused to budge for much of the summer, with the result that no buying was done until last-minute panic set in.

And the centre of activity on D-day is good old Real Madrid, where Gareth Bale was being unveiled even as the players threatened by his arrival were having medicals across Europe. The sheer nonchalance with which the exodus was approved is jaw-dropping. Most clubs would give anything to have either Mesut Ozil or Kaka, and for a club to let them go the same day, without batting an eyelid, tells you a lot about the quality Madrid are sitting on.

It can be argued that Kaka and Ozil are at different ends of their careers. Ozil is not yet 25, and his best years are possibly yet to come (as a Liverpool fan, I can only shudder). Kaka is still useful for the occasional charge, but he has at the most two years of good football left in him (as a Juventus fan, I do not view him as a threat beyond this season). Both have bagfuls of Champions League experience, although Ozil – a three-time semi-finalist with Real – hasn’t gone as far as Kaka, who won the competition twice during his previous spell with Milan. Nevertheless, he will offer a lot to Arsenal – most importantly, the winning mentality that has deserted the club over the last few years.

 

The Transfers

Kaka was signed (not bought) back from Real by Milan today morning. In yet another sign of how lopsided football finances have become due to the global financial downturn, the club that dominated Europe for a decade was too cash-strapped to pay the market price for one of the principal instruments of that run, so Real let him go for free.

He ‘magnanimously’ cut his salary by 2/3rds to facilitate the move to Milan. Like any good Brazilian player, Kaka hopes to find extra form in a World Cup year; in his case by returning to the place where he saw his glory days. If viewed that way, it is a tale that does tug at the proverbial heartstrings.

But not all Milanese are delighted. Kaka reportedly made a specific request that he be the highest-paid player at the club. At 4m euros/annum, he is a massive drain on a salary bill that Milan have assiduously worked to reduce for over a year. And when you pay a player sky-high wages, he has to be played regularly, which will cramp the growth of youngsters like M’Baye Niang and Andrea Petagna. With Keisuke Honda’s imminent arrival from CSKA Moscow, are Milan losing their way and succumbing to the temptation for quickfix success?

Emotions over Kaka’s return are decidedly mixed. Some look at him as the prodigal son, back to lift the club to its halcyon days; others are questioning the wisdom of buying a high-maintenance, injury-prone 31-year old who is clearly past his best, at the expense of a youth project.