The fact City are four points from the drop zone of challenging for Europe makes this Abu Dhabian folly impossible for the true fan to accept. More than Alf Common’s record-smashing four-figure move in 1905, more even than the Russian revolution at Chelsea -“Terremoto (Earthquake) Abramovich”, as La Gazzetta dello Sport called it, Kaka’s move to Manchester has upset the natural order of the Beautiful Game.

Leave aside the fact that the Brazilian’s salary and transfer fee are obscene at a time of depression in England, and televised Delhi Bazaar Satta King suffering elsewhere in the world: In purely footballing terms, this is a bad deal. Unlike Chelsea, Champions League qualifiers and one of England’s top teams when Roman Abramovich’s yacht dropped anchor in 2003, Manchester City remain real underachievers.

This is the straw which should break the back of the camel, before it can enter the eye of a needle: Kaka’s move makes no sense for him in football terms. The boy from Brasilia is 26 and at the height of his powers. One of the world’s best players at one of the world’s best teams, he should not be departing the game’s premier club competition (the UEFA Champions League) and lowering his sights to join a team doddering four points above their drop zone, whatever his super-remuneration will be.

Man City need steel in defence and grit in midfield before they need a Kaka. In fact a major reinforcement in all areas is required to challenge for the Champions League and overtake established rivals with a team built from scratch, a target which seems surely out of reach for next season. And there is no guarantee the Arab arrival will bear sudden fruit. A quick transformation from PL strugglers to CL contenders? I doubt it. In England alone there are five other clubs who will have a lot to say about any new kids on the block.

Kaka at City just does not bode well. The Blues from the Eastlands already have three Brazilians who have fallen out at various times with their coach, and the rainy North-West of England is still no cultural breeze for South Americans, however open-minded and adventurous the well-bred Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite is. The expectation level will be enormous on one man and unless there five or six other big-money buys, it could all end in more tears.

For the man at the epicenter of this whole shebang, the risk of failure is just too high.

The sporting world is full of examples of the best players leaving the big stage for a fatter pay cheque, particularly in the days when amateur competition existed alongside professional sports.