London, Jan. 19 : Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has reportedly told the Arab owners of the club to sign Brazilian and A C Milan football star Kaka now or risk missing out on him.

Hughes' missive came as the club's executive chairman Garry Cook and City officials are due to sit down with the Brazilian's father Bosco Leite and AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani in Italy today to firm up their 91 million pound pursuit of Kaka, The Sun reports.

The deal, with wages and add-ons, could still reach as much as 243 million pounds.

Real Madrid have emerged as possible rivals in the chase for the superstar.

But they are not in a position to make a move until the summer, following last week's exit of club president Ramon Calderon.

Hughes, who is known in football circles by his nickname Sparky, was quoted as saying: "It may be that in the future a deal to bring Kaka to Manchester City will never present itself again. So, when it does, you have to follow it through.

"You have to react quickly when the opportunity comes to acquire a player of that standard," he added.

Hughes' demand comes a day after Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour was reported to have lost 440 million pounds, which is nearly double the amount that he is expected to fork out for purchasing Kaka.

The Arab tycoon, who hopes to sign AC Milan's Kaka for 243 million pounds, was stunned after Barclays shares crashed by 25 per cent, wiping 2.7 billion pounds off the bank's market value.

The Sheikh, 38, had plunged 3.5 billion pounds of his estimated 33 billion pound fortune into Barclays last October, giving him a 16.3 per cent stake.

The Sun revealed yesterday that he hopes to take Kaka, 26, to the club by splashing 108 million pounds on a transfer, another 108 million pounds on the attacker's wages and 27million pounds in fees. (ANI)