Kaka refutes Berlusconi claims

KKaka has rubbished claims from Silvio Berlusconi that he asked to be omitted from Brazil's Olympics team.
Kaka has rubbished claims from AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi that he asked to be omitted from Brazil's team to compete at next month's Olympic Games.

Kaka was selected as one of three overage players for the tournament, but coach Dunga was forced to exclude the midfielder from his 18-man squad after Milan refused to release him.

Newspaper Globo subsequently quoted Berlusconi, who is in Tokyo taking part of a meeting of the G8, as saying it was Kaka who requested he be stood down from the team, citing tiredness as the reason for his absence.

However, Kaka has refuted that claim, saying: "I keep my will to represent the Brazilian national team in the 2008 Olympic Games.

"The veto officially came from AC Milan, in the figure of the club president Adriano Galliani, and it was published on the club's official website.

"I have never talked to prime minister Silvio Berlusconi about football matters. Rather I have always respected the decisions by AC Milan president Adriano Galliani."