Milan Say Ciao To Kaka

In the words of average Brit-rock band, The Stereophonics:

There's no mistake/I smell that smell/It's that time of year again.

Yes, transfer season is well and truly back, and with a bang, rather than the often cautious splash we experience in the early stages.

Two big deals have already gone through; first, Gareth Barry shocked everyone by departing Aston Villa, not for Liverpool, but for moneybags Manchester City, in a move reportedly costing City £12 million pounds.

Then last night, after a week of blatant flirting, Kaka officially joined Real Madrid from AC Milan for a (pound sterling) record fee of around £56 million.

The Brazilian - a personal favourite of mine - appears to be leaving Milan with a heavy heart; that's not to say he didn't want to join Real, but more that there seems to be a mutual appreciation between Kaka and The Rossineri. Which is nice. After all, he joined the club six years ago for just €8.5 million euros, helping Milan to Champions League and Serie A glory. Pats on the back all round, fellas.

A couple of issues came to mind when I mulled over this move though:

a) AC Milan must be in some serious financial trouble during this global recession to sell Kaka. The men upstairs at the San Siro must be fearing the backlash of many an angry Milan supporter - he was one of the most beloved players amongst the fans, possibly second only to the freshly retired Paolo Maldini.

And,

b) Where does this leave winker Cristiano Ronaldo? Newly re-appointed Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is insisting he wants to bring Ronaldo to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, but to do so, will he not have to break the transfer record yet again? Having watched the Kaka sale unfold and once commenting that he "wouldn't sell that mob a virus", Sir Alex Ferguson is unlikely to let Ronaldo go for anything other than parity with the Kaka deal.

We could be on the verge of a re-emergence of the Galactico mentality in Madrid, which would make for a mouth-wateringly exciting few months.

To close, here's BBC Sport's record transfer chart.

Side note: Denilson - who held the dubious honour 11 years ago, now plies his trade in Vietnam with Hai Pong Cement FC.