It was a wonderfully choreographed piece of theatre that would have done Barack Obama proud.
On a wet and windy Monday night in Milan, Silvio Berlusconi strolled out of his two-up, two-down to announce to the thoroughly soaked and sodden members of the press that âÂÂKaka is staying with us. Money isnâÂÂt everything.
âÂÂThe negotiations were closed by myself and Kaka so all I can say is, long live Kaka.âÂÂ
A little earlier in downtown Milan, the player had given the game away somewhat when he appeared in the window of his humble abode to wave his number 22 shirt at the fans gathered below, and give the general impression of a man who had dodged a long prison sentence.
"Alright, alright, I'll stay. Now let me get back to Deal or No Deal..."
By all accounts, the deal was on until well after 9pm before Manchester City finally threw in the towel, leaving Kaka glowing like a man spared some terrible evil.
There were the usual platitudes about how the fans, and especially the kids, had won him over and how he had never asked for a pay rise and so forth, but letâÂÂs see how long this little love-in lasts.
The final decision was, of course, down to Kaka and not his father, but it can't be long before Real Madrid come calling once again.
After all, world domination is still the BrazilianâÂÂs aim and, after Berlusconi admitted that times were tough even for a media mogul, which new faces will we see arriving at the San Siro to turn the Rossoneri back into genuine title contenders?
The names of Franck Ribery and Emmanuel Adebayor will all have to be jettisoned from the collective memory while Filippo Inzaghi, Andriy Shevchenko and Massimo AmbrosiniâÂÂs weather-beaten mugs will be hanging around for some time to come.
There is little to suggest that the aging country-club atmosphere will change in the foreseeable future, so how will that sit with the ultra-ambitious 26-year-old?
Aww, isn't he adorable. The lion cub's not bad either...
It may not be a new era dawning, but there will be plenty of time for carping so letâÂÂs celebrate on what is, after all, a historical day with some of the headlines in this morningâÂÂs Italian sporting press reading.
Gazzetta dello Sport
Silvio: âÂÂKaka staysâÂÂ
Corriere dello Sport
Kaka: âÂÂI am stayingâÂÂ
Berlusconi: âÂÂHe turned down City millionsâÂÂ
Tuttosport
âÂÂKaka chooses MilanâÂÂ
Of course, the Turin-based paperâÂÂs main headline concerned Juventus.
âÂÂBoom times for Juve as Inter crackâÂÂ
Some things never change.
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FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
News: City claim Milan moved goalposts over KakaNews: Kaka decides to stay put at San SiroBlog: Cloak & dagger conduct from Kaka's nearest & dearest
News: Kaka's father due in Milan for talks
News: Milan fans plead for Kaka to stay
News: Milan considering colossol Kaka offerNews: Losing Kaka might not be disaster for Milan
News: Milan meet City to hear Kaka proposalsNews: Kaka to ponder move to Man City
Blog: Milan should cash in as City come calling for KakaKaka interview
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