Analysis: Oliver Kay I Five things Manchester City could also buy for £91million I Italian media aghast at offer I Debate: are Manchester City going to mess this up? | Comment: Gabriele Marcotti I Hughes finds clubs are adding a premium I Hughes told his job is safe

Money talks, everything else walks. If Garry Cook, the Manchester City chief executive, really did wave a chequebook under the noses of AC Milan yesterday offering to write the figure of €100 million Euros (about £91 million) above Sheikh Mansour’s signature, it would mark the moment when Europe’s footballing aristocracy had to recognise the new kid on the block.

With all due respect to Robinho, the Brazil forward whose £34.2 million transfer from Real Madrid on the last day of the summer transfer window set a British record, Kaka is on a different plane. It’s one thing to sign a player who, however talented, was surplus to requirements at the Bernabéu and who had a big “for sale” sign figuratively stuck to his back for the previous six months. Quite another to go to one of the wealthiest clubs in the world and dislodge the man who scooped the Ballon d’Or and Fifa World Player of the Year awards 12 months ago, and to do it by spending nearly treble what they were prepared to pay for Robinho.

As ever when sifting through any story involving City these days, it’s not easy to separate fact from hyperbole. Much like the mysterious Russian billionaires who were in vogue five years ago, Sheikh Mansour’s wealth and willingness to spend are seen as virtually limitless. So let’s begin with the facts.

Cook and Kia Joorabchian, the agent who frequently assists City in dealing with foreign players, were at Milan’s headquarters in Via Turati yesterday afternoon, meeting Adriano Galliani and Ariedo Braida, the Milan executive vice-president and sporting director respectively, and Ernesto Bronzetti, a Fifa agent who frequently represents the Rossoneri in overseas transfer deals.

The transfer of Dida, the Brazil goalkeeper, was the ruse to fix an appointment with Milan’s high command, but it seems obvious that the Italian club were expecting that Kaka would soon enter the conversation. And when he did, it is understood that Galliani quipped that he was not for sale, barring an offer that could not be refused. According to reports in Italy, it was at this point that the €100m offer was mentioned — €120million, according to some sources — along with the intention to pay Kaka as much as €15 million a season after taxes which equates to nearly £500,000 a week in gross terms.

This is, perhaps, where hyperbole creeps in. Sources close to Kaka confirmed to The Times last night that neither of the men who represent him — his agent, Gaetano Paolillo, nor his father, Bosco — were at the meeting. This would appear to suggest that Kaka was not officially on the agenda when Milan agreed to convene. And it raises the question of why City would discuss Kaka’s personal terms with Milan.

The reaction of Silvio Berlusconi, the Milan owner, fuelled speculation. He denied knowing anything about the offer — which stands to reason, given that he’s busy with his day job as Prime Minister of Italy — but added that he “hoped” Kaka was not for sale and “hoped” he would stay at the club for a long time.

That verb — “hoped” — was given oracle-like importance. It implies that the situation is beyond even Berlusconi’s control. It suggests that, despite being one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Europe, he can only “hope” that Kaka won’t be sold. Given that he owns 99 per cent of the club, it’s ultimately his decision and, if he can’t rule out a sale, there can only be one conclusion: Sheikh Mansour can put so much money on the table that even Berlusconi has to give way. Letting Kaka go would be a blow to the image of success and glamour Berlusconi and his advisers have built over the years.

As for Kaka himself, sources close to the player were insisting last night that he was very happy at Milan. Less than a year ago, he signed a new contract that pays him £10 million this season and that rises by a million pounds each year until it expires in 2013. The 26-year-old has indicated that were he to leave Milan, it would only be for another “big club”. And, as a source close to the player told The Times last night, City were not in that category just yet.

Yet, at the same time, others in Kaka’s entourage have suggested that he may be inclined to move for a hefty offer. Last July, Diogo Kotscho, Kaka’s spokesman in Brazil, announced that he had received a “fantastic” offer from Chelsea and that, “for the first time, we feel a deal will definitely happen”. Chelsea dismissed the reports, but, at the time, Paolillo, Kaka’s agent, while neglecting to comment specifically, confirmed Kotscho’s words were authentic. All of which would suggest that a big enough offer could tempt Kaka, even if it means putting up with Mancunian winters and, realistically, no Champions League football until 2010 at the earliest.

If City can pull this off, they will confirm the cliché that everything has a price. Even Kaka. And even Berlusconi’s pride.