Kaka decision on Monday, says Berlusconi

A decision on the future of AC Milan playmaker Kaka will be taken on Monday, club owner Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday. Milan's forward Ricardo Kaka jubilates after he scores at a Serie A match. Real Madrid and Chelsea, now coached by former Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti, have both been linked in the media with world record deals for the 27-year-old Brazilian.

"I will talk with Kaka next Monday and on Monday I will be able to reveal the decision," he told the recording of an Italian television programme. "It is early to think about what happens next." Chelsea denied on Wednesday they had made an offer for the player, which Sky Sports News reported as a bid of 73.5 million pounds ($122 million).

"We have never made an offer to AC Milan for Kaka and therefore not one of this extraordinary level," the Premier League club said in a statement on their website (www.chelseafc.com). "As a consequence we have not discussed a salary with the player either. Any reports to the contrary are untrue."

Italian prime minister Berlusconi compared the situation to the sale of Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea in 2006. "I can only say that we were very attached to Sheva," he said. "When an offer arrived that we could not equal, because I had a great friendship with him, I did all I could to convince him but in the end I left it up to him.

"It is always our lads who must decide where they want to play. Now we will see." Kaka, the 2007 world player of the year, almost joined Manchester City in January for a world record fee in excess of 100 million euros ($142 million). However, he opted to stay at the San Siro despite Milan sanctioning the move.

Berlusconi has said it will again be difficult to hold onto the player given the amount of money involved but Kaka reiterated on Monday that he wanted to stay with Milan, who finished third in Serie A this term. Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani, who said economic factors were hurting the club when he unveiled new coach Leonardo on Monday, fuelled the transfer rumours on Tuesday when he was spotted in Madrid.

The Rossoneri said he was solely there as a guest for the re-election dinner of Real president Florentino Perez, who has long courted Kaka. A sprinkling of Milan fans protested against the sale of Kaka outside the club's city centre offices on Wednesday.