On the Move?

He had been linked with a move to Real Madrid, but this rumour was put to rest after Adriano signed a four-year contract extension in 2005 that will keep him with Inter until 2010. "It's flattering that so many prestigious clubs want him," the late Giacinto Facchetti (Inter's former club president) told journalists, "but we're keeping tight hold of him." However, after a somewhat disappointing 2005-06 season with only 13 league goals, he has again been linked with a move away to Real Madrid and Inter's city rivals, AC Milan. More recently, he has been linked with a move to English giants Manchester United, with both the English and Italian press saying that he is set to replace the void left by Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who left for Madrid in the summer. Although Inter have denied that they have received an approach from Manchester United, for their Brazilian striker, sources close to the club say that a deal is imminent and that the player will sign for the Old Trafford outfit, before the transfer window closes. This is not the first time Adriano has been linked to England, as he was linked with a big money move to Chelsea F.C. but he has been linked with Manchester United before in a transaction which almost took place involving Ryan Giggs as part of a swap deal.

Many say Adriano is the man to replace van Nistelrooy. Any deal is likely to cost Manchester United a lot of money with figures being touted at £25-30 million. Although any deal between the two clubs is highly unlikely as Adriano has constantly been stressing throughout the summer that he wants to remain with the Italian giants, and his agent conclusively said on August 15, 2006 that Adriano "wants to remain at Inter, he does not care about the recent arrivals of Hernán Crespo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He wants to stay where he is and I have not had any conversation with other teams.” Many times before, as well, he has categorically stated that he will not leave Inter until he has won something big there, and is firmly a fan favorite.