Ancelotti admits defeat in Pato chase

Paris Saint-Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti has admitted defeat in his bid to bring AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato to the French capital.

The 22-year-old seemed bound for the Parc des Princes after the Ligue 1 leaders agreed a fee with Milan for the Brazilian.

However, the move broke down on Thursday when Pato declared his intention to remain at San Siro, a development which resulted in Milan abandoning their pursuit of Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez.

It was thought that the Pato deal could yet be resurrected, but Ancelotti conceded defeat during a press conference on Friday.

“It’s over. He hasn’t arrived because we were waiting for an agreement between AC Milan and Manchester City for Tevez,” Ancelotti said.

“It’s the player’s decision then. We wanted to bring in a player to improve the team. We have time until the end of the window (to find someone else).”

According to reports, Ancelotti, who worked with Pato during his time in charge of Milan, has now turned his attention to signing another Brazilian, Internacional’s Leandro Damiao.

Saturday’s match against Toulose will be Ancelotti’s first Ligue 1 match in charge since taking over from Antoine Kombouare on December 30, with PSG looking to maintain their advantage at the top of the table.

Ancelotti said he had settled in well in the French capital and was confident his side would get the points against Toulouse.

“I am happy with the training – I speak French, English and Italian. My players are learning my philosophy really quickly,” he said.

“I like when the training is intense and organized, and when the players show determination. They have trained really well.”

“Tomorrow, we want to play good football, we want to win, we want to stay at the top of the League.”

“Tomorrow will be important. Toulouse are a good team, they’re strong with good tactical organization and a good mentally.”

“They are a good team. We have to play well together as a team. It will be tough but we want to win.”