Chapter 41 The Highest Salary in Football
Fino and Ambrosini hugged, and Fino accepted his senior's pats on the head, cheeks, and foreheads before retreating to midfield to wait for Palermo to kick off.
Ten minutes later, Milan had another attacking opportunity. Jankulovski cut into Palermo's penalty area on the left and received a long pass from midfield before crossing from the left. Kaká was brought down by Guana as he turned with the ball, clutching his knee and showing a pained expression.
Guana, fearing the referee would issue a card, started pulling on Kaká's arm, hoping to pull him up.
Having witnessed everything, Fino immediately ran over and pushed Guana aside. He anxiously squatted down and asked Kaka about his condition.
"Ricardo, are you alright?"
"Ugh..." Kaka gritted his teeth and whispered, "My knees hurt so much."
Fino immediately gestured to the sidelines, indicating that Ancelotti needed to bring the team doctor onto the field.
Ancelotti's heart skipped a beat. He thought, "No way, Kaka has only played two games, is he going to get injured again?" He quickly called the team doctor to prepare a stretcher.
By this time, Kaka had recovered. He grabbed Fino's hand, used it for support to stand up, and with Fino's help, slowly walked to the sidelines to receive treatment.
When Fino returned, Ambrosini and Gattuso were pressuring the referee.
The referee ruled that Guana had no intention of intentionally injuring Kaká, therefore awarding Milan only a free kick and not issuing a card to Guana. Milan players, however, protested on Kaká's behalf, arguing that Kaká was injured, yet the culprit didn't even receive a yellow card – was this fair?
The referee's decision was very firm; he signaled to the Milan players not to obstruct the normal progress of the game, or they would be issued cards.
Gattuso's temper flared, and he was about to continue arguing when Ambrosini and Finola left.
We can't let Milan be the one getting hurt, and then Milan be the one getting cards, can we?
The free kick was again taken by Pirlo, who delivered a high-quality free kick from 28 meters out, sending the ball straight into the top right corner of the goal.
But Fontana's save was equally brilliant; he guessed the right direction, leaped to the left, and blocked the ball with one hand.
Pirlo shook his head, somewhat disappointed.
A few minutes later, during a dead ball situation, Ancelotti substituted Gourcuff onto the field, as the team doctor determined that Kaká's injury prevented him from continuing the game.
There was some commotion in the stands as fans expressed their concern about Kaka's injury.
The Milan fan forums were filled with cries of despair.
[Ten days ago, Ronaldo was ruled out for the season in the forward line; three days later, Nesta was injured in the backfield. Is it the midfielder's turn now?]
[I have a bad feeling. Why is it that after this injury, another one appears?]
[Kaka just returned to play a week ago, how did he get injured again?]
I'm so tired. Are we going to collapse this season?
No! I'm trembling...
[Quickly say "Pui, pui, pui!" to me, don't jinx it, we're still only second!]
【Pah! Pah! Pah!】
【Pah! Pah! Pah!】
...
Shortly after the start of the second half, Palermo's goal scorer Bresciano also suffered an unexpected injury and was replaced by Simplicio.
Palermo's coach also looked bitter.
With nearly two-thirds of the season already gone and the season entering a crucial point-scoring phase, Bresciano's injury at this critical juncture is a major headache for Palermo.
Is this fate? You let Kaka go, and I have to pay Bresciano in return? He'd rather both Kaka and Bresciano be fine.
This season, Palermo is aiming for a Europa League spot, but they face stiff competition from teams like Atalanta, Napoli, and Udinese. These teams haven't played Milan since the second half of the season, so if Milan can eliminate them, it would be great news for Palermo!
Simplicio came on as a substitute and was very active. He was a small black player, like an old coal-fired train, not fast but with great momentum, bursting into Milan's half of the penalty area amidst black smoke.
Kaladze finally got his chance to redeem himself.
After Simplicio entered the penalty area, Kaladze immediately stepped up to mark him, accurately blocking his position. He then pulled his arm back to prevent Simplicio from drawing a foul, pressing him relentlessly and taking the opportunity to steal the ball and pass it to Bonera.
With clean and decisive movements, he proved to Milan fans around the world that the Kaladze at the start of the game was not the real Kaladze!
Karachi gave him a thumbs up, saying, "That's a good partner!"
In the 72nd minute, Milan made a substitution, with Fino being replaced by Inzaghi.
Inzaghi was already taking small, alternating steps and lifting his legs on the sidelines.
Seeing Inzaghi's performance, Fino smirked and quickened his pace to leave the field, it seemed Inzaghi was eager to get off.
When they were just a step apart, Fino raised his arm slightly, wanting to give Inzaghi a high five below his waist, but Inzaghi hooked his hand in return.
After Inzaghi came on, he immediately combined with Jankulovski and Pato.
Jankulovski launched an attack from the left flank, crossing the ball to Pato. Pato dribbled the ball forward a few steps, then, overcoming Cassani's interception, passed it to Inzaghi. He then used his speed to shake off Cassani and continued running towards the penalty area, where Cassani turned and chased after him.
Inzaghi only acted as a pivot point. After receiving the ball, he passed it back to Pato, who took a shot but was pushed to the ground by Cassani behind him.
Casani received a yellow card.
Palermo then wasted two scoring opportunities: first, Cavani's powerful shot from 23 meters out flew over the crossbar, and then Amauri's lob shot was cleared by Kaladze.
After regular time, the score was tied 1-1, and the game went into stoppage time.
After receiving the ball, Pirlo passed it diagonally to Jankulovski, who had made a run into the left side of Palermo's penalty area. At this moment, Inzaghi was lurking in the penalty area, but was firmly marked by Zaccardo.
Jankulovski crossed from the left, Ambrosini received the ball, and before Biava and Cassani could intercept, he passed it back to the left. Jankulovski turned to avoid the ball, simultaneously blocking Barzagli's view, and Gourcuff behind him tapped the ball with his foot before passing it into the penalty area.
Before Gourcuff could take the shot, Inzaghi, who was originally closer to the goal than Zaccardo, quickly moved to a better position, successfully beating the offside trap and leaving Zaccardo behind. He then launched a diving header from 6 meters in front of the goal, sending the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
Milan took a 2-1 lead.
After scoring the winning goal, Inzaghi ran wildly along the field with a ferocious expression, and San Siro went completely into a frenzy.
The fans cheered and applauded wildly, finally venting their frustration after being suppressed by Palermo for the past few years. How dare you act so wildly at the San Siro? What kind of championship do you have?
After defeating Palermo, Ancelotti breathed a sigh of relief, having secured another 3 points.
Three days later, in AC Milan's away match against Catania in the 25th round of Serie A, Ancelotti made significant rotations. Five players did not travel with the team: Nesta and Kaká were injured, while Pirlo, Kaladze, and Jankulovski were rested.
In the starting lineup, Kalac guarded the goal, Maldini and Bonera partnered at center-back, Cafu and Favalli played as the two full-backs, Brocchi, Emerson and Ambrosini partnered in midfield, and Seedorf replaced Kaká, roaming behind the two forwards Inzaghi and Pato.
Fino, Gattuso, and Oddo were among those sitting on the bench.
This was Inzaghi's 300th Serie A appearance, and he was eager to score on this memorable day. Unfortunately, he wasn't lucky today, with two headers going wide and one shot ruled offside.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Pato scoring for Milan.
The day after the match, on February 28, AC Milan officially announced that they had formally renewed Kaká's contract. The new contract still maintains the maximum term of 5 years. According to the contract, Kaká will play for Milan until the end of the 2012/13 season.
The transfer rumors that had been swirling all winter have finally come to an end.
In an interview, Galliani declared: "Kaka is not for sale at Milan. We will renew his contract after it is successfully completed. Kaka is determined to fight for Milan for the rest of his life, and he looks forward to becoming the flag bearer of AC Milan."
AC Milan has not officially announced specific salaries, but the media had already gotten wind of it.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Kaká's new contract brings his annual salary to €9 million after tax, surpassing Ronaldinho to become the highest-paid player in football. This is 2.25 times that of players like Pirlo, Nesta, Seedorf, and Gattuso, and does not include the €1 million annual salary that was split between him and Degan.
According to Corriere dello Sport, Kaká's €9 million annual salary is only for the first year of his contract, increasing by €1 million each year thereafter, reaching a net annual salary of €13 million in the final year of the contract.
The announcement of Kaká's contract extension not only caused a huge uproar in the football world, but also stirred up trouble in the Milan dressing room.
Pirlo's agent, Tullio Tinti, requested a pay rise and contract extension from the club after the European Championship, but the club rejected the request outright. Galliani made it clear that only Kaká had the privilege of breaking the salary cap at Milan.
In fact, Galliani has already begun planning to start salary reduction negotiations with veterans over 30 years old after the end of next season, when Pirlo will just turn 30.
After receiving a clear rejection from the club, Pirlo remained silent, refusing to utter another word regarding the contract extension. Even though two top clubs had secretly contacted Tinti, promising a salary comparable to Kaká's if Pirlo transferred after the season, this was despite the club's reluctance.
Pirlo is a proud man. After demonstrating his value as the core player on the field, he needs Milan to show their respect for him through his contract, including his annual salary and the length of his contract.
But the respect he sought was not fulfilled by Milan.
Pirlo is also a loyal person, but his loyalty is not to the club, but to his contract and to football itself.
After his contract renewal request was rejected, he never again asked the club for a raise, and he also rejected all the club's offers of a reduced salary contract that was inconsistent with his own value.
In the summer of 2009, he sought a transfer, but Milan refused to let him go, so he continued to quietly fulfill his contract with Milan until it expired in the summer of 2011.
He left Milan without looking back.
Does he love Milan? Yes!
But the premise of love is that you can get the respect you deserve. If you can't get that respect, then there's no need to talk about love, just talk about the contract.
That's a story for another time.
Let's go back to the point after Kaka renewed his contract.
On March 1st, in the 26th round of Serie A, AC Milan hosted Lazio.
In preparation for the second leg of the Champions League match against Arsenal a few days later, Ancelotti rotated some of his key players in this round of league play, and the match ended in a draw.
It's worth mentioning that Kaká's younger brother, Degan, made his Serie A debut as a substitute in this match.
Media speculation that giving Degan playing time was part of Kaká's contract extension terms has been denied by both AC Milan and Ancelotti.
The media didn't dwell on the issue, because the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 was coming up, and they had more sensational stories to tell.
For example, can the fading Milan defeat the youthful Arsenal?
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