PSG snatch world-class defender from Barcelona and Man City
Published:Thiago Silva is rightly regarded as perhaps the best central defender in world football at present and this suggests that Paris Saint-Germain have landed a massive coup to sign him from AC Milan.
Barcelona and Manchester City were other clubs known to be interested in the Brazilian, but it is the Ligue 1 runners-up that have stumped up the money to leave Milan with no option but to sell.
Paris Saint-Germain are rumoured to be paying €46m for Silva, which represents a more than useful profit given they paid less than a quarter of this sum in 2009 to Fluminense.
Silva has been key to Milan in the past two seasons, but having suffered financial losses in recent years despite the high-value sale of Kaka to Real Madrid, this should solve their issues.
The bad news for Milan is that not only will an almost irreplaceable defender need replacing, but his fellow centre-back Alessandro Nesta looks likely to leave for the MLS.
Furthermore, the sale of such a big influence may result in the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic questioning the ambition of the club and believing that their futures lie elsewhere too.
Italy defender Angelo Ogbonna is one target, but Torino want close to €20m, which is a hefty amount for a player unproven outside of Serie B.
This means that the arrival of Palermo’s Matias Silvestre is more likely and he will provide competition for Mario Yepes, Daniele Bonera and Philippe Mexes.
With Ezequiel Levezzi also targeted by PSG, they certainly look better Champions League bets than AC Milan for the forthcoming season.
AC Milan are currently 20/1 in the Champions League odds despite a fight to retain their better players, while PSG can be backed at 28/1.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
