Kaká

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is dos Santos and the second or paternal family name is Leite.

Kaká
Kaká in 2018
Personal information
Full name Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite[1]
Date of birth (1982-04-22) 22 April 1982[2]
Place of birth Gama, Federal District, Brazil
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1994–2000 São Paulo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2003 São Paulo 59 (23)
2003–2009 AC Milan 193 (70)
2009–2013 Real Madrid 85 (23)
2013–2014 AC Milan 30 (7)
2014–2017 Orlando City 75 (24)
2014 → São Paulo (loan) 19 (2)
Total 461 (149)
International career
2001 Brazil U20 5 (1)
2002–2016 Brazil 92 (29)
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Brazil
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2002 Korea/Japan
FIFA Confederations Cup
Winner 2005 Germany
Winner 2009 South Africa
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Runner-up 2003 United States–Mexico
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁiˈkaʁdu iˈzɛksõ duˈsɐ̃tuz ˈlejtʃi]; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká (Brazilian Portuguese: [kaˈka] ⓘ) or Ricardo Kaká,[4][5] is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Kaká was known for his explosive pace, dribbling, passing, and goalscoring, and is considered one of the greatest players of all time.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] With success for both club and country, he is one of the nine players to win the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or.[13][14]

In 2001, at age 18, Kaká made his professional debut at Brazilian club São Paulo. He later joined Italian club AC Milan in 2003. Kaká helped Milan win the Serie A title in his first season. Milan finished runner-up in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League with Kaká being the top assist provider of the tournament and being named the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year. He led Milan to win the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League and was the tournament's top goalscorer. His performances saw him win the FIFA World Player of the Year, the 2007 Ballon d'Or, and the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. After six years with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid in 2009 for a transfer fee of €67 million,[15] which was the second highest transfer fee at the time. However, his four seasons in Madrid were plagued with injuries, which saw his pace decline. He returned to AC Milan for a single season in 2013, prior to joining MLS expansion club Orlando City SC. He initially went on loan to his former club São Paulo before returning to Orlando in 2015 and retiring from professional football in 2017.

Kaká made his debut for Brazil's national football team in 2002 and was selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad, which won the tournament that year. He also played in the 2006 World Cup, alongside other veterans like Ronaldo, Adriano, and Ronaldinho. He made his final World Cup appearance in 2010. He was also a member of Brazil's 2005 and 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup-winning squads, winning the Golden Ball in 2009 as the tournament's best player.

Between 2006 and 2009, he was named in both the FIFA World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year three times. In 2010, he was named in the AC Milan Hall of Fame.[16] One of the world's most famous athletes during his playing career, Kaká was the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers on Twitter.[17][18] Outside of football, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work, where he became the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme in 2004.[19] For his contributions on and off the pitch, Kaká was named by Time as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2008 and in 2009.[20]

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Biografia de Kaká". Quadro de Medalhas. December 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Kaká". A.C. Milan. Archived from the original on 25 April 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Ricardo Kaká". YouTube. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Rooney and Kaka both confident ahead of second leg". YouTube. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Andriy Shevchenko's Perfect XI: 'Creative maestro' Kaka and 'exceptionally dangerous' John Terry". Fourfourtwo.com. 29 September 2016. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Best Brazilian Players of All Time - Kaká". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Pele: Kaka is best and better than Ronaldo". ESPNFC.com. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  9. ^ "The 50 greatest footballers of all time". 90min. 13 May 2019. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Ranked! The 101 greatest football players of the last 25 years: full list". FourFourTwo (253 ed.). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  11. ^ Mackenzie, Alasdair (27 November 2023). "Ranked! The 100 best players of the 21st Century". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  12. ^ Bishop, Callum (8 October 2024). "The 20 greatest midfielders in football history have been ranked - Iniesta 6th". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  13. ^ The others are Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi
  14. ^ "Kaka: Former Brazil, AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder announces retirement". BBC. 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Milan2009bilancio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Kakà)". acmilan.com. A.C. Milan. Archived from the original on 30 September 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Kaka tops 10M Twitter followers". ESPN. 26 April 2012. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  18. ^ "World Fame 100". ESPN. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Soccer star Kaká puts the floodlights on global hunger" (Press release). World Food Programme. 30 November 2004. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  20. ^ "Kaka profile" Archived 5 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Goal.com. Retrieved 28 June 2014
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