DengarKATA

CARLO ANCELOTTI made a dramatic phone call to Kaka yesterday and begged: Don't join Real Madrid.

The new Chelsea manager rang the Brazilian superstar in a bid to stall his world record £62million switch from AC Milan to Madrid.

Milan sources were adamant last night that Kaka will still go to Real - and the deal will be confirmed on Monday.

But Blues owner Roman Abramovich discovered yesterday morning that Kaka's transfer was still not legally concluded.

That sparked Ancelotti's call and speculation mounted throughout the day that Chelsea had offered a staggering £73.5m for the playmaker - and were willing to pay him £17m in wages.

Chelsea issued a statement officially denying that last night - although the club did not deny the phone call from Ancelotti.

Ancelotti was Kaka's boss at Milan for six years and forged a close relationship with his star player.

A pal of Ancelotti's confirmed: "Carlo called Kaka in Brazil.

"Carlo is hopeful that Chelsea can be a tempting destination and his personal bond with the player can make a difference."

But a Milan insider last night insisted Ancelotti's pleas are too little, too late.

They said: "He is not going to Chelsea - even though Ancelotti has been asking him for some time to come with him.

"The will of the player in this case is paramount. And we know that he wants to join Real Madrid, not Chelsea. This is no longer a moving story. The announcement will come on Monday."

Milan's owner, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was facing a backlash from Italian fans yesterday - who also revolted when Kaka, 27, nearly joined Manchester City in January.

Berlusconi, whose political party faces European elections on Sunday, promised them he would announce a decision once the voting was over.

Berlusconi even likened Kaka's transfer to Andriy Shevchenko's switch to Chelsea, saying: "I can only say that we were very attached to Sheva.

"When an offer arrived that we could not equal, because I had a great friendship with him, I did all I could to convince him - but in the end I left it up to him.

"It is always our lads who must decide where they want to play. Now we will see."

Meanwhile, Real sporting director Jorge Valdano was last night desperately trying to seal Kaka's transfer to the Bernabeu.

The player is currently on international duty with Brazil.