The Citizens executive has reiterated that Milan had given the green-light for the Brazilian’s transfer, but it was the English club who ultimately broke off the talks.

Milan ace Kakà opted to turn down a record-breaking move to Premier League club Manchester City on Monday, but the transfer saga finale has left a bitter taste in the Eastlands outfit’s chief executive Garry Cook.

“I have the paper signed by [Milan general manager Adriano] Galliani and myself, and it says that ‘Milan pledge to sell Kakà to Manchester City, provided that the player will accept personal terms’.

“It took 12 weeks of work to get there. What happened in the end?”

Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi personally announced during a TV show that the 26-year-old had decided to listen to his heart and stay put, rejecting a lucrative offer from the Citizens.

“It was not Kakà’s decision nor Mr Bosco’s, his father,” explained Cook. “It was us who pulled out, when we realized that the agreed protocol was not going to be respected.

“After all Kakà could not have turned down a bid we never proposed him. We asked his representatives and Milan many questions, but we never got the answers. That’s why we pulled out.”