AC Milan star Kaka isn't the only big name to turn down Manchester City this month, it has been revealed. The Guardian says the full extent of Manchester City's ­difficulties in the transfer window were revealed last night when it emerged that the club had also tried and failed to sign David Villa, Gianluigi Buffon and Thierry Henry before their aborted £91m world-record bid for Kaka.

Backed by their billionaire owners in Abu Dhabi, a delegation from Eastlands went to Valencia in December to make it known they wanted to sign Villa and his Spain team-mate David Silva from the La Liga club. City were willing to pay around £100m but pulled out, as a point of principle, when Valencia asked for £135m.

"They wanted us to bankroll their club for the next four seasons," said one of the men involved in the deal.

A City delegation also travelled to Turin to open talks with Juventus for Buffon, the Italy goalkeeper. Juventus wanted a figure close to £100m and, again, City withdrew from the negotiations, suspecting the Italian club were trying to take advantage of what has become known in football circles as "the Manchester City effect".