AC Milan Target Ganso Wants to Beat Barcelona, Join Rossoneri

Brazilian phenom Paulo Henrique Ganso has confirmed that his dream is to play for AC Milan.

The Italian champions have been monitoring the Santos midfielder for some time now. The Brazilian giants are unwilling to sell as he and Neymar are the center of the team.

With the likes of Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Barcelona eying one or both of the stars, Santos have kept refusing offers with the goal of winning trophies. Mission accomplished.

The other night, Santos won Copa Libertadores by defeating Uruguayan giants Penarol 2-1 with Ganso controlling play in the midfield. With the win, Santos have earned a trip to Japan and a spot in the semifinals of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup this December.

The Club World Cup is an eight team tournament which features the winners of each continents' champions tournament. Joining the champions of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania is the champion of the host nation, in this case Japan.

Also in the semifinals are Barcelona, the dominant champions of Europe who are looking to win a second Club World Cup. Obviously going in, the Blaugrana are favorites.

Knowing full well that the early projected final for the tournament will be Santos-Barcelona, Ganso has laid out his intentions for the winter.

It's seemed likely for a while that Ganso would end up at Milan, but now it's even more likely after it was discovered that Ganso has been learning Italian while out for two months with a thigh injury.

Now we know that Ganso wants to join AC Milan in January, but not before an incredible feat.

"My dream is to beat (Lionel) Messi's Barcelona in the FIFA Club World Cup (in December) and then join AC Milan in January," Ganso told Gazetta dello Sport.

If Milan were to pursue Ganso this summer, which is unrealistic, especially given his comments, new signing Taye Taiwo would have to get an EU passport. Transfer rules allow for only one non-EU signing per transfer window. Taiwo is from Nigeria and never needed to get a passport while playing for Olympique Marseille.

It is nothing to worry about though because Milan fans can rejoice. It appears that very soon, Paulo Henrique Ganso will be playing for AC Milan.