Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (
Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiˈkaɾdu iˈzɛksõw duˈsɐ̃tus ˈlejtʃi]; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as
Kaká (
/kæˈkɑː/), is a
Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish
La Liga club
Real Madrid[2] and the
Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis,
[3] and it was not until he moved on to
São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of fifteen that he chose to focus on football.
In 2003 he joined
Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won the
Ballon d'Or and
FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. After his success with Milan, Kaká joined
Real Madrid for a world record fee of £56 million, smashing the previous record of Zidane, £49 million.
[4] Kaká's record was later broken by
Cristiano Ronaldo when he joined Real Madrid for a fee of £80 million. In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the UN'
World Food Programme.
[5
On 3 June 2009,
Football Italia reported that newly-elected
Real Madrid president
Florentino Pérez had offered Milan a €68.5 million deal for Kaká,
[25] two days after the player had left for international duty with Brazil.
[26] Milan vice president
Adriano Galliani did not deny the reports, and confirmed that he and Kaká's father, Bosco Leite, had traveled to
Mexico to meet with
La Volpe.
"We had lunch and spoke about Kaká. I don't deny it. Negotiations exist, but a deal has yet to be done."[27] On 4 June, Galliani told
Gazzetta dello Sport that financial reasons were his motive for the talks with
La Volpe.
"We cannot allow [Milan] to lose €70 million [...] The reasons behind Kaká's departure would be economic."[27] On 8 June, Milan and Real Madrid confirmed Kaká has moved to the
Bernabéu on a six-year deal.
[28]
Kaká made his unofficial debut on 7 August 2009, in a 5–1 friendly victory against
Toronto FC.
[29] He scored his first goal for Madrid during a pre-season match on 19 August 2009, in a 5–0 victory against
Borussia Dortmund.
[30] Kaká later made his league debut on 29 August 2009 in a 3–2 win against
Deportivo La Coruña.
[31] He scored his first goal, a penalty kick, on 23 September, in a 2–0 against
Villarreal.
[32] On 5 August 2010, Real Madrid announced that Kaká had undergone a successful surgery on a long-standing left knee injury and would face up to four months on the sidelines.
[33] Kaká returned to training after a long lay-off and manager Jose Mourinho said that having Kaká back was like a new signing.
[34][35]
After an eight-month absence, Kaká returned to play by entering as a substitute for
Karim Benzema on the 77th minute of a 3–2 victory over
Getafe on 3 January 2011. He said he was "(...) happy for playing a game again and for stepping onto a pitch."
[36] His first league goal (and his first of the season) after his return from injury came with an assist from
Cristiano Ronaldo on a 4–2 victory over
Villareal on 9 January.
[37]
In March 2011 Kaká suffered from
Iliotibial band syndrome which kept him sidelined for a few weeks. After returning from injury, he appeared in a convincing win over Valencia, scoring two goals.
Kaká had a good start to the 2011-12 Season, having signed a fairly positive preseason.
In September 27th, Kaká experienced one of his best matches as a Real Madrid player during a 3-0 victory over
Ajax in the
Champions League, as he scored one goal, provided one assist and participated in one of the best team build-ups of the matchday: a counterattacking move involving
Özil,
Ronaldo and
Benzema.
[38] He was later chosen the best player of the Champions League Matchday.
[39]
With this match, Kaká experienced one of the best starts to a season he's ever had, scoring two goals, serving two assists and provoking one penalty for his team.
[40]