Paris Saint-Germain are on the verge of pulling off a sensational euro 60 million double swoop for AC Milan duo Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Goal.com has confirmed.
Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has been planning to offload the pair for months in order to wipe out a significant chunk of the club's mounting debts, as well as remove two hefty salaries from the wage bill, with Ibrahimovic earning a reported euro 12m a year, while Thiago Silva is paid a yearly sum of euro 6m plus bonuses at San Siro.
Galliani's plan was initially undermined by the Berlusconi family, with club owner Silvio Berlusconi blocking the proposed sale of Thiago Silva to PSG for euro 46m at the last minute before subsequently handing the Brazilian a lucrative new contract.
However, Galliani has been given the green light to cash in on Milan's two most valuable assets, meaning it will now be up to the players involved to decide if they want to move to the French capital.
Thiago Silva claimed over the weekend that he was "glad" that his proposed switch to the Parc des Princes collapsed, revealing that he never wanted to leave San Siro, but that the deal has now been resurrected should not be an issue for the Brazil international. Indeed, the centre-half is said to be happy with the financial package PSG have put together for him.
Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, has expressed an interest in relocating to Paris and the Swede's representative, Mino Raiola, is also keen to secure the 30-year-old striker one last big pay day.
The super agent is on his way to France to discuss the Milan forward's proposed move to PSG. Raiola spoke with his client in Sweden on Wednesday and is now travelling to the French capital with lawyer Vittorio Rigo, who handles the legal side of all deals involving the 30-year-old.
They are asking PSG's Qatari owners for an annual wage packet of euro 14m per season, which represents an increase of euro 2m a year on his current salary at Milan and would make him the second highest paid player in the world behind Anzhi Makhachkala forward Samuel Eto'o, who currently earns euro 20m a year in Russia.
PSG sporting director Leonardo has confirmed that they are in talks over the Sweden international, and a meeting with Raiola will take place shortly.
"Yes, we are negotiating and we also spoke yesterday in Sweden," the Brazilian stated to Sky Sport Italia. "We will soon meet with Raiola and then we will see what can happen. At the moment everything is possible, because the transfer market is like that - it's always open. The deals can only be considered done, when they are in fact done."
As for Milan, they accept that filling the void left by Thiago Silva could be close to impossible, but they are confident of finding an adequate replacement for Ibrahimovic. Indeed, not only are the Rossoneri considering reigniting their interest in Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez, they are also, as Goal.com revealed earlier this week, courting the Argentine's club-mate Edin Dzeko.
Liverpool forward Andy Carroll and Siena striker Mattia Destro are also under consideration, with the latter representing a particularly attractive proposition for Galliani, whose goal is to build a new Milan, younger and cheaper, but no less successful.
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