Mark Hughes's problems in luring the most coveted Champions League stars to Manchester City have continued with an audacious, though failed, attempt to sign Fabio Cannavaro, Italy's 2006 World Cup‑winning captain.
Cannavaro, a former world footballer of the year whose Real Madrid contract expires in the summer, has confirmed that City had approached him. City's immense wealth under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group would have guaranteed him one of the highest salaries in the game but he said there were other matters to consider and also revealed he had rejected a move to Bayern Munich.
"There will be the World Cup next year and I want to stay relaxed," the defender said. "Real Madrid told me I would have to wait until after the [club's] presidential election [to find out about a new contract] and advised me to look around. But I have asked my agent to see if he can find a solution. I didn't want to have to start from scratch with the World Cup around the corner and that's why I have turned down Manchester City and Bayern."
Having failed with a bid to sign John Terry from Chelsea in January, a move City intend to resurrect, Hughes had identified the 35-year-old Cannavaro as the kind of inspirational figure who would have given City's defence a considerably more solid look than has been the case at times this season. However, the player's reluctance is another indication that City might still have an identity problem when it comes to attracting the world's best footballers.
City's executive chairman, Garry Cook, new to football and eager to improve his contacts book, invited Barcelona's president, Joan Laporta, to be wined and dined in England this week and is planning to do the same with representatives of Europe's other leading clubs over the next few months. There will also be efforts made to ensure that City's working relationship with Milan has not been damaged by the failure to close a planned world-record move for Kaka in January.
"These clubs in years gone by wouldn't have passed the time of day with Manchester City because they felt we weren't on the same level," Hughes said. "With the new owners, the top clubs in Europe want to have these discussions. The top clubs can see that in the future we intend to be one of the major players."
The first piece of transfer business for City this summer is likely to be with Roque Santa Cruz, Blackburn's Paraguayan international striker, who has an £18m release clause in his contract. City will want to conduct checks on the player's fitness given the games he has missed this season and Hughes has felt compelled to look at other possible target men, with Peter Crouch of Portsmouth one alternative.
"We have to make sure that any player we bring to the club is likely to be a success," Hughes said. "You look at all things when you bring in a player, and the injury record is one of those things. You have to do your due diligence; if you don't, then mistakes can be made. Our targets may well change because you can't put all your eggs in one basket. Roque was fit and strong for me in that first year when I was his manager [at Blackburn] and he played exceptionally well. He's a very talented player but thankfully he's not available when we play them on Saturday."
At the same time, Hughes is planning an extensive exodus of players, with at least half a dozen fringe players made available for transfer and Michael Ball, Dietmar Hamann and Danny Mills not being offered new contracts when their present ones expire this summer. Talks have started to reward Stephen Ireland with an improved deal but Hughes made it clear Elano would be disappointed after the Brazilian stated earlier this week he wanted to sign a new contract.
Elano had been agitating for a transfer in January and Hughes was bemused by the player's comments. "There are a number of players whose contract situations we will be looking at but Elano is not a priority for us. He has two years left and he's not one of those cases when we feel we need to renegotiate the terms."
Another of City's targets, Franck Ribéry, has gone public for the first time about the possibility of leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the season. However, the France midfielder said his decision would be based on playing in the Champions League. "It would be difficult for me to stay if we do not reach this goal," said Ribéry. "It is why the club must, at all cost, finish at least in second."