Cristiano Ronaldo and Other AC Milan Transfer Rumors: Buy or Sell

Its almost summer time and football leagues are starting to enter the back end of their fixture lists. You know what that means:

Besides the fact that champions will be crowned, Champions League places will be won, and promotion and relegation battles will come to an end, we are also coming upon another addition of the always exciting soap opera known as the summer transfer window!

What is always the most exciting part of this little drama? The rumors.

It starts as early as the moment the summer window closes. It continues through the winter window with deals that do not get done (ahem, Fabregas to Barcelona) and continues into the next summer. But just what is rumor and what is actually a reality.

These are the questions we fans and journalists are forced to deal with while club officials and players meet to discuss potential moves. Already, there are several big names linked with AC Milan. Currently on top of Serie A with seven matches remaining, the Rossoneri will look to add more firepower in the summer in the wake of a disappointing campaign on the European front.

So what is possible and what is simply gossip? Let's take a look at a couple big names that have been linked with Milan.

Start with the name that has stirred the most discussion. The 21-year old Brazilian international has drawn the attention of Europe's most premier clubs and if reports are to be believed, Ganso wants to play at the San Siro.

The only question is, does he want to wear blue or red?

It seems that the two finalists in the chase for the Santos midfielder are Milan and main rivals Inter Milan. Reports out of Italy claim that CEO Adriano Galliani was in fact in Brazil trying to close a deal in December while finalizing Ronaldinho's move to Flamengo, but came back empty handed.

It appears that the youngster wants to move to one of the Milan clubs, it is just a matter of which one. Milan could face some issues in acquiring him. First, Galliani has said he does not want to spend more than 25 million euros in the process.

However, there seems to be some hope. Friend and national team teammate Thiago Silva, Milan's star center back, claims that Ganso has hopes to be in red and black next fall.

"I spoke with him before the derby and he told me that he would be watching the game on television. He also admitted that he was going to cheer for Milan and that he hopes to sign a contract with us," Thiago told Corriere della Sera."

He joked about making Ganso's mind up for him:

"Milan cannot let Ganso escape, because he is a brilliant player. The next time I'm in Brazil, maybe I'll take him back in my luggage!"

All of this talk by the man many believe to be Milan's future captain comes after previously saying that he believed Inter would win the race for his signature.

The Ganso saga will be one to keep an eye on this summer. It seems very likely that he could end up with AC Milan when all is said and done.

27-year old Dutchman Arjen Robben, known for his beautiful left-footed distance strikes, is apparently keen on a move to Milan. This is according to Corriere dello Sport.

The Bayern Munich midfielder is said to be hopeful that friend Mark van Bommel, who left Bayern in the winter for the Rossoneri, can convince his new employers to take a chance on the star.

With Milan's midfield ever aging, this could be a good move for Milan. Massimo Ambrosini, Andrea Pirlo, and Gennaro Gattuso only have so many years left in them and Clarence Seedorf is apparently drawing heavy interest from Brazilian side Corinthians.

If Bayern Munich fail to qualify for the Champions League, this could be a done deal. Robben wants to be playing first class football, not get stuck in the Europa League. Currently, Munich sit in third place, which is good for a spot in the Play-off Round of the Champions League this August, but they hold only a one point lead on Hannover and sit seven points behind Bayer Leverkusen for second place, which would guarantee direct qualification.

Do not be surprised if these talks heat up in a couple weeks. I would not be surprised at all to see Robben trading in the red and white stripes for red and black. Barring any injuries, he still has several years of top football ahead of him and could benefit Milan greatly.

Yeah this one has been around basically since the day after Kaka left Milan for Real Madrid in 2009. Despite his big money move which was part of Los Blancos weekend swoop for both Kaka and Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, the Brazilian has found little success at the Spanish giants.

It appears that the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year's days are numbered in Madrid and a move is likely this summer. Milan is one of several places with which the star has been linked. These also include Inter, Chelsea, Manchester City, Sao Paolo, and several other clubs.

Would Kaka come back? Well, he has previously expressed desire to retire a Rossoneri and be the club captain. He said after his sale that he never wanted to leave the club and that it was the club's financial situation which made him decide to leave. Real Madrid were offering a lot of money and he had actually rejected more money in January 2009 from Manchester City.

I am not going to take these rumors seriously at the moment. Selfishly, Kaka is my favorite player, my idol. He is as close to Paolo Maldini on my list of favorite players as anyone will ever come. I obviously would love to have him back and Milan would love to get him back because of the relationship with the club and the tools he provides in the midfield. However, injuries may prove to be an issue. Kaka is four years older than when he was named Player of the Year and he has been injured regularly. Maybe he comes back, but only time will tell.

This one is getting pretty annoying.

We all know the love story that is Balotelli and Milan. Balotelli grew up a Milan fan, ends up with Inter, wears Milan shirts in public, the club wants him, he goes to City, he wants Milan, they get Ibrahimovic and Robinho.

For now, there is simply no room at Milan for Balotelli. Personally, I worry about his attitude. However, he seemed to love playing with Ibrahimovic and has expressed desire to play with him again. Whatever happens to the Italian at City, I do not see him at Milan in the near future.

This is basically a guarantee. All that is left is for pen to be put to paper.

The 29-year old Frenchman wants to play for Milan. He just announced that he is absolutely leaving Roma at the end of the season and it looks virtually impossible that he plays for anyone but Max Allegri and Milan.

Before Sunday, this was an awesome deal for Milan, but against Juventus, Mexes suffered an ACL injury.

The road to recovery is long and difficult, but Mexes has about six full months until the season begins, maybe a little more until he would make his Milan debut with the injury so it would not be a horrible outcome for Milan.

Milan are looking for players who are not halfway between 30 and 40. Mexes just turned 29 a few days ago. He has a couple more years left in him, barring more setbacks, and could provide an excellent switch from soon to be retired Alessandro Nesta for Thiago Silva in the center of defense. Nesta recently announced that he would not retire this year, but it seems obvious that the Italian cannot have more than a year left in the tank.

If Mexes heals correctly from this injury, he will be a great addition for Milan. If not, there are plenty of center backs in the world.

The BS meter is reading off the charts on this one.

Apparently, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Milan's owner, has a huge crush on the Portuguese superstar.

Goal.com has been in contact with a source close to the Rossoneri who has pointed out the sheer ridiculousness of this claim about CR7 joining the club.

"Milan do not have the economic resources to confront a big spend like this on Ronaldo," the source told Goal.com. "Of course, if Berlusconi really wanted to then he would get him as he has the money, but with figures over €100m Milan could buy a whole new squad, rather than spend it on one player. Therefore Milan know it wouldn't make sense to spend all of that money on one player.

"One thing is for sure though, Berlusconi is madly in love with Ronaldo."

Good thing Silvio realizes how ridiculous going after the superstar is.

As the source said, Milan could restructure their entire squad with over 100 million euros. A couple of the rumors mentioned earlier could happen with that kind of money, but to spend it all on one player? This is not Madrid, or Barcelona, or Chelsea. Milan do not have the means of income to be justifying such a purchase.

Not to mention that Milan are pretty solid on the wings. They have several attacking options with Pato, Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Kevin-Prince Boateng, and Antonio Cassano, as well as Filippo Inzaghi and youngster Alexander Merkel. To go after Ronaldo is ludicrous, not to mention that such a big personality mixed with the already big personalities of Pato and especially Ibrahimovic could cause a lot of issues at the club.

Milan do not need Ronaldo. It would be a waste of money on the other great potential acquisitions Milan could see in the summer.