Ahead of tomorrow night’s meeting between Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan, a report has recalled how two of the most recognisable modern Rossoneri stars could have ended up at the German club.
MilanNews write that Ricardo Kaka could have ended up in the red and black stripes of the Bundesliga side rather than Milan. Leverkusen have had a long-standing attachment with Brazilian players, with Jorginho, Emerson, Paulo Sergio, Lucio and Zé Roberto all having played for them.
They sent a scout to Sao Paulo to watch a striker called França and it was the attacking midfielder Kakà that caught their eye. They had seen in the Brazilian talent a possible replacement for the star of the time, Michael Ballack, who was destined to move to Bayern Munich.
To give you an idea of how close Kakà was to Die Werkself, consider that the Leverkusen coach at the time, Klaus Toppmoller, went out on a limb: “He is an impressive player and can score as often as Ballack. He is at the top of our wish list.”
The player himself had expressed his intention to move to Europe. He could have arrived for €9m, but the German side gave up because they didn’t have enough money. Kaka went to Milan for a similar fee a year later and the rest is history.
Théo Hernandez meanwhile was one step away from Bayer Leverkusen. In fact, it was practically a done deal until that famous flight to Ibiza from Paolo Maldini in the summer of 2019 to convince the then Real Madrid man.
The Frenchman himself admitted it, declaring in an interview: “I was very close to moving to Bayer Leverkusen, but he [Maldini] turned everything upside down. He came to see me on vacation and we talked a lot. I immediately understood that I had to go to Milan.”
The player had returned to Real Madrid after his loan at Real Sociedad, but he wasn’t part of Los Blancos’ plans. Leverkusen swoop and agreed a €20m fee, then Milan caught win and Maldini’s intervention was decisive.
