Alexandre Pato has recalled one of the most important moments of his career, when in January 2012 he came very close to leaving Milan for Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazilian’s transfer was part of an operation that would have secured funds for the Rossoneri to sign Carlos Tevez from Manchester City, but in the end everything changed after the intervention of Silvio Berlusconi.
At that time, Adriano Galliani had advanced negotiations with PSG, which were led by Carlo Ancelotti and Leonardo. In fact, Milan’s administrator was in London to finalise the deal for Tevez. But Berlusconi, who held a special regard for Pato, decided not to allow his departure.
In an interview with Luca Toni on “Prime Video”, the former striker said his agent had brought him the contract from the French club, but then he received a phone call from the Milan president.
“My agent came from Brazil and told me: ‘This is the PSG contract, because Leonardo and coach Ancelotti want you to go there immediately’. It was a very good contract for me. Then Berlusconi called me and said: ‘You have to come to my house, because we need to talk'”, Pato recalls.
The meeting was decisive. Berlusconi made it clear that he wanted to keep him in the squad, regarding him as one of the key players in the Rossoneri project.
“He said to me: ‘Ale, I don’t want to let you leave. You are the player we have trusted, and you have just been our best goalscorer’. I replied that the decision was his. At that time I was also in a relationship with Barbara Berlusconi. I felt at home, I had everything there. I thought: ‘I’m fine here, why should I leave?'”, the Brazilian revealed.
However, this decision did not have the desired outcome. Pato began to face a series of injuries that significantly affected his career. In January 2013, just a year after the failed transfer to PSG, he returned to Brazil, where he signed with Corinthians for around 15 million euros.
He later had spells at Chelsea, Villarreal, Tianjin Tianhai and Orlando City, before playing in Brazil again with Sao Paulo.
Although he has not played for around three years, the 37-year-old has not yet definitively closed the door on his career.
“I have not decided 100% to retire. I think that, if I train, I can still play. I know my body and I know what I need to do. It’s not easy, because I haven’t played for a while, but if I train well for a month, I can come back”, he said.