Galliani: Milan can rival Barca

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani believes his side is not far away from closing the gap on Barcelona.

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday, the 67-year-old said the encounters Barca have faced in the Champions League this season against Milan have been more exhaustive examinations than the Clasico derby with Real Madrid in December.

“We’re not so far away (from Barca),” Galliani said. “The greatest difficulty (Pep) Guardiola’s team faced in the first part of the season was not Real Madrid, but Milan.”

Galliani also reiterated that the Serie A club’s stance on bringing Carlos Tevez to San Siro will not change, despite Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini’s insistence that only a permanent deal will be sanctioned.

“I promised Carlos that we would wait until the last day of the window and there is no alternative,” he said.

“We made an offer for Tevez which consisted of a free loan with a purchase option and right of redemption for them. That is our proposal and it will not change.”