Mancini: We're not interested in Thiago

Posted Sunday, May 27, 2012 by ESPN

Roberto Mancini played down speculation of a bid for Thiago Silva insisting that his meeting with AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani was a 'courtesy' visit.

Manchester City boss Mancini met with Galliani earlier this week and it prompted rumours the Premier League champions are lining up a bid for Silva.

Reports claimed City would offer Mario Balotelli in part-exchange for the Brazilian defender, but Mancini has shrugged off the significance of his trip.

"Why did I meet Adriano Galliani at AC Milan's headquarters?" Mancini told Antenna Tre. "Galliani invited me, he congratulated me on winning the Premier League.

"I was there for 10 minutes but we did not talk about anything, it was just a courtesy visit.

"Did Galliani say there was an assault on Thiago Silva from the richest European clubs? According to me, he was talking about Barcelona and PSG, a very rich club."

Galliani is also determined to keep Silva, saying: "We will do the possible and the impossible to resist the temptations, which are really strong, that there are for him.

"Certainly, there are clubs with big financial resources but he's happy to stay at Milan and he has a contract until 2016."

Meanwhile, former Inter Milan boss Mancini has confirmed that he is likely to eventually return to coach in Italy, but has no plans to leave City.

He added: "Will I come back to coach in Italy? Yes, probably yes, but it will still take some time."