AC Milan Blog

Former Manchester United and AC Milan striker Joe Jordan can't see Wayne Rooney ever being tempted to move to Italy.

Jordan pities the British players who miss out on the Italian job – yet insists Wayne Rooney can achieve all his ambitions with ­Manchester United.

He told the Sunday Mirror: “I was very fortunate to have the challenge of going to Italy at the age of 29 and in a way it’s a shame our players aren’t getting that opportunity these days because it was a great experience.

“The fact is, though, that the Premier League is now No.1 all over the world and Italian football can’t compete financially. I couldn’t have imagined in my playing days watching Chelsea v Manchester City with two Italian managers in charge. Amazing.

“What Italian clubs would pay for Rooney is hypothetical because it’s not going to happen. I don’t see it even crossing his mind.

“I can’t see him going to Spain, either. He is with arguably the biggest club in the world and he has become the man at Manchester ­United.

“He’s got everything he wants at Old Trafford. He’s playing in front of 76,000 every home match and he’s playing with quality players.

“He wants to keep on winning trophies and have the opportunity to fulfil his ambitions. United give him that.”

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is excited about facing Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea today.

The pair played together for Italy, while they also crossed swords as Mancini took charge of Inter and Ancelotti was with AC Milan.

Mancini told City's website: "Carlo's a good friend of mine, we played together for the national team many times. I played against him in Italy for 15 years as well. He's a good man, a good manager and he certainly has a strong team to look after.

"We didn't think about the future back when we played, but he knows a great deal about football. Like me he played at the top level for many years, and he won many medals in Italy

"With that and all the times he played for the national side, he picked up plenty of good experience that he is using now as a manager. When we were in the Italian squad, we both talked and thought a lot about the game before we played.

"It will be another tough game, they are a top team and we need to concentrate like we did against Liverpool. If we play like we did at times against Stoke as well, then we have a chance but we must take our chances to score when they happen. We must be positive."

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says the Premier League is FAR BETTER than the Serie A.

Ancelotti reckons he has never had to work harder to get his team to the top of a league table.

Ancelotti said: "The Premier League is now much better than Serie A. In Italy there are only three teams - Roma, Inter and AC Milan. In England it is much more competitive. It is not just the top four, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Everton and Manchester City can also beat you.

"We would like to win the Champions League with Chelsea because it is a competition the club have never won. But for me and for the club, I don't think it is more important than the championship."

Chelsea have been warned they will have to break the bank to land Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic.
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The Sun says Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti wants Borussia Dortmund's Serb centre-back, 20, as the linchpin of his defence for years to come. But he faces stiff competition from Manchester City and AC Milan.

Subotic's agent Stephen Kelly said: "It will take a hell of a lot of money to get Neven. He's happy with his new four-year contract. It's a bloody good one, too."

Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli was at the San Siro last night to see Manchester United defeat AC Milan.

Balotelli's presence set tongues wagging. Earlier this season, Balotelli confessed he was a Rossoneri fan growing up.

Sitting with Balotelli was former teammate Amantino Mancini.

Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli was at the San Siro last night to see Manchester United defeat AC Milan.

Balotelli's presence set tongues wagging and the speculation only heightened after Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini was also spotted in the same stand.

Earlier this season, Balotelli confessed he was a Rossoneri fan growing up, while only yesterday Mancini admitted given the chance he would sign the young striker "immediately".

Portuguese marketing agency Futebol Finance has published a list of the top 50 footballer's salaries this season.
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Futebol Finance's 50 highest paid players in world football :-

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, £11.3million)

2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona, £10.4million)

3 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, £9.1million)

4 Samuel Eto'o (Internazionale, £9.1million)

5 Kaka (Real Madrid, £8.7million)

6 Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester City, £7.4million)

7 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, £7.4million)

8 Carlos Tevez (Manchester City, £7million)

9 John Terry (Chelsea, £6.5million)

10 Frank Lampard (Chelsea, £6.5million)

11 Thierry Henry (Barcelona, £6.5million)

12 Xavi (Barcelona, £6.5million)

13 Ronaldinho (AC Milan, £6.5million)

14 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, £6.5million)

15 Daniel Alves (Barcelona, £6.1million)

16 Michael Ballack (Chelsea, £5.6million)

17 Raul (Real Madrid, £5.6million)

18 Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United, £5.6million)

19 Kolo Toure (Manchester City, £5.6million)

20 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, £5.2million)

21 Robinho (Manchester City, £5.2million)

22 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, £5.2million)

23 Victor Valdez (Barcelona, £5.2million)

24 Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla, £5.2million)

25 Deco (Chelsea, £5.2million)

26 Didier Drogba (Chelsea, £4.8million)

27 Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, £4.8million)

28 Francesco Totti (Roma, £4.8million)

29 Luca Toni (Roma, £4.8million)

30 David Villa (Valencia, £4.8million)

31 Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich, £4.8million)

32 Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich, £4.8million)

33 Ashley Cole (Chelsea, £4.8million)

34 Fernando Torres (Liverpool, £4.8million)

35 Gareth Barry (Manchester City, £4.8million)

36 Patrick Vieira (Internazionale, £4.8million)

37 Charles Puyol (Barcelona, £4.3million)

38 Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, £4.3million)

39 Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid, £4.3million)

40 Andreas Pirlo (AC Milan, £4.3million)

41 Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich, £4.3million)

42 Frank Ribery (Bayern Munich, £4.3million)

43 David Beckham (AC Milan, £4.3million)

44 Wayne Bridge (Manchester City, £4.3million)

45 Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid, £4.3million)

46 Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United £4.1million)

47 Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal, £4.1million)

48 Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea, £4.1million)

49 Ryan Giggs (Manchester United £4.1million)

50 Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus, £4.1million)

Manchester City plan to rattle Manchester United with a shock bid for Nemanja Vidic.
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The Sunday Times says the move would form part of City’s strategy to replace Manchester United as England’s premier football club, and echoes their successful poaching of Carlos Tevez from Old Trafford last year.

Like Tevez, Vidic is understood to feel undervalued and he has attracted the interest of several leading clubs, including Real Madrid and AC Milan. The 28-year-old Serbia international’s contract expires in 2012 and United are yet to talk about extending it.

City’s interest is unlikely to be welcomed by Sir Alex Ferguson, United’s manager. He has had to deal with problems in central defence all season, with both Vidic and Rio Ferdinand frequent absentees.

AC Milan have secured Ignazio Abate and Luca Antonini to new deals through to 2014.

Both players are products of Milan's academy and can play at either full-back or on the wing.

Right-back Abate and left-sided player Antonini have featured regularly this season and have now been rewarded with long-term contracts.

Abate came back from a co-ownership deal with Torino last season, while Antonini returned from a similar agreement with Empoli the previous year.

Manchester City were rumoured to be interested in Abate prior to the winter transfer window but he pledged allegiance to Milan.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says he wants to replicate the success of AC Milan at Stamford Bridge.
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The proud Italian is ready to extend his empire across the whole of Europe, after quelling the troublesome Gallic hordes of Arsenal at the weekend.

He explained: "Caesar's phrase comes to mind when I think of what has happened this season. I have come to England, seen what it is like and, before I leave, I want to conquer the FA Cup, the Premier League and the Champions League.

"I have not lost my sense of humour since coming here. In England it rains every day but still people sometimes tell me it is a beautiful day. That's when I tell them about Julius Caesar, who spent so much time in Britain yet, in the end, opted to move back to the Amalfi coast in Italy.

"But I am not in any hurry to leave. The competition here is very strong and it is not going to be easy. I would compare Manchester United with Inter Milan, Arsenal with Roma and Manchester City with Fiorentina.

"But I want to pair Chelsea with my old club, AC Milan. If we can match some of Milan's past achievements, that would not be at all bad."