Maicon’s wage demands delay Real Madrid move
Inter Milan defender Maicon’s move to Real Madrid has hit a stumbling block, as the Brazilian has hit the La Liga club with high wage demands. Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has had the right-back near the top of his transfer wish list throughout the summer, but the proposed move now appears to be at risk.
According to reports in Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, terms have been agreed between the two clubs over the transfer of the 29 year-old player. The agreement is said to be for 28 million euros plus bonuses related to Maicon’s performances. But the completion of Maicon’s switch looks some way off as the player has yet to agree to personal terms with his proposed new club.
Stance backed
Maicon has issued wage demands of seven million euros per year, a stance his agent Antonio Caliendo seems to have backed after claiming his client is not an inferior player to Madrid superstars Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. But Madrid president Florentino Pérez appears steadfast in his resolve not to offer more than his five-and-a-half million euro wage offer for the defender.
Mourinho appears set to hold talks with the Madrid board in a bid to push the long-gestating deal to its conclusion. He is eager to team up with his former player, who was part of the Inter side the Portuguese manager led to Champions League glory last season. Should the deal fail to materialize, sources have said Madrid may turn to AC Milan’s Thiago Silva instead, but any bid for that player appears doomed as the Serie A club have claimed the player is not for sale.
However, if Real Madrid are successful in capturing the services of Maicon, they will have one of the world’s top full-backs at their disposal. He played for Gremio and Criciuma during his youth career, before making the switch to Cruzeiro’s academy. He graduated from that youth set-up and made his senior debut for the club in 2001, going on to play in 57 games and score a solitary strike during a successful spell which saw the club win both the Brazilian league and the Copa do Brasil in 2003. In 2004, he completed a move to European football at French Ligue 1 outfit Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club. He became much more involved in first team affairs at Monaco, playing 40 and 35 games respectively in his two seasons with the club. Despite netting seven times for the French team, he did not win any trophies at his time there.
Premier right-back
In July 2006, Maicon completed a transfer to Inter Milan, where he established himself as one of football’s premier right-backs. He showed himself to be a solid defensive player, but quickly became renowned for his darting runs down the right wing, usually to power in a cross or even scoring himself. His displays resulted in the oust of Inter captain Javier Zanetti as first-choice right-back, with the 36 year-old Argentine moving to the opposite side of the defensive line. Maicon’s excellent displays have proved important in Inter’s hugely successful recent history as the club have lifted the Scudetto (Serie A championship title) in each of his four seasons with the team, along with the 2010 Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana victories in 2006 and 2008, and the afore-mentioned Champions League triumph. He has made 169 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 16 goals.
Maicon has also proved to be a huge hit at international level, being the international team’s first-choice to line up on the right of the defence ahead of FC Barcelona’s Daniel Alves. He has made 62 appearances for his country, with six international goals to his name. He was part of the Brazil squad that won the Copa America titles in 2004 and 2007, as well as FIFA Confederations Cup in 2005 and 2009. Maicon also played for Brazil in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they were defeated at the quarter-final stage by the Netherlands.
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