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Untouchable Beckham AC Milan moves for Barcelona's Rivaldo
MILAN (Reuters) -- AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani says his club is interested in signing Barcelona's Rivaldo, but the prospects of a deal depend on whether Luis Figo moves from the Catalan club to Real Madrid. Galliani also said a second bid for England midfielder David Beckham had been turned down by Manchester United. Milan president Silvio Berlusconi said recently his club was aiming to sign "one of the top five players in the world" and in an interview with the daily Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday, Galliani revealed the club had drawn up three targets. "Milan will make a leap in quality only if one of these three players arrives -- David Beckham of Manchester United and Rivaldo and Figo of Barcelona." Milan approached Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in a bid to sign Beckham last week and Galliani said a second overture had also been rejected. "We tried again with Manchester today [Wednesday] but they really don't want to give him up. Beckham can't be released and we respect the wishes of Manchester," said Galliani. Galliani, who effectively runs Milan on behalf of Berlusconi, has been in Spain for the past two days and said the attempt to bring Brazilian forward Rivaldo to the San Siro was tied to the future of Figo. Portuguese international Figo has been linked with a move to Real Madrid with Spanish media saying he has signed an agreement to make a US$57 million switch to the Spanish capital. Galliani believes that Milan's hopes rest on Figo rejecting a move to Real. "If they lose Figo Barcelona will not allow themselves to also lose the world player of the year Rivaldo," said Galliani. "But if Barcelona convince him to stay, then there would be more possibility to acquire Rivaldo, Barcelona would not be forced to hang on to him." The Milan vice-president said any move for Rivaldo or Figo would have to wait until the outcome of Barcelona's presidential election on Sunday. Berlusconi has been criticized by Milan supporters for failing to strengthen the team in the face of huge spending by title rivals Lazio, AS Roma and Juventus. Galliani admitted it is proving tough to keep Berlusconi's promise of a "major deal." "It is increasingly difficult. For Milan either we get a world class player or we stay as we are, which is already competitive. There is no point in us signing other players of medium quality when the ones we already have are superior."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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