Here are some facts you need to know about Kaka
Ricardo Kaka (Full Name – Ricardo Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite), commonly known as Kaka, is a former Brazilian mid-fielder born on 22 April 1982 in Gama, Brazil. His father’s name is Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite and mother is Simone Dos Santos. He has a younger brother – Digao.
Childhood
Kaká father was a civil engineer and his mother, an elementary-school teacher. His brother is also a professional footballer. His brother called him “CaCa,” which evolved into ‘Kaká.’
Ricardo Kaka family moved to São Paulo when he was 7, and his love for football grew thereafter. He played in a local youth club called ‘Alphaville’ before he became part of São Paulo FC.
Career
Ricardo Kaka signed a contract with Sao Paulo at the age of 15. He made 27 appearances and scored 12 goals in the 2001 season. He also led his club to win the ‘Torneio Rio-São Paulo’ in 2001.
In 2003, AC Milan signed him for €8.5 million. He made his Serie A debut for Milan in Italy in a 1–0 win over ‘Ancona.’ He contributed 10 goals in 30 appearances for the club in the first season.
In the 2004–2005 season, he helped his team win the ‘Supercoppa Italiana’. In the 2006–2007 season, he ended up becoming the top scorer, with a total of 19 goals at the UEFA Champions League.
Kaka was also named the ‘UEFA Club Footballer of the Year’ and became part of the ‘UEFA Team of the Year’ in the same season. He was voted as 2007’s ‘IFFHS World’s Best Playmaker.’
In the 2007–2008 season, he won the FIFA Club World Cup and the ‘Golden Ball’ for the best player of the tournament. Kaka finished his last season with ‘Milan’ with 16 goals and was nominated for the ‘FIFA World Player of the Year’ award.’
In 2009, Real Madrid signed Kaka and he made his La Liga debut for the club in a 3–2 win over ‘Deportivo de la Coruña.’ He ended the season with 8 goals and 6 assists in the league and 9 goals with 8 assists in other games.
In the next season, Kaka finished his run with 7 goals in 20 appearances and led his team to win the Copa del Rey. He became the highest-scoring Brazilian footballer in UCL history after scoring in a 4–1 win against Ajax.
After scoring 29 goals and 32 assists in 120 appearances, Kaká decided join Milan again. He scored his 100th goal for Milan against ‘Atalanta.’
Later, Kaka joined the MLS club ‘Orlando City’ in 2015 and continued playing brilliantly until he received the first red card of his career in a 1–1 draw against ‘Real Salt Lake.’ He announced that he would not be renewing his contract for the 2018 season.
Awards & Achievements
- 1X THE BEST FIFA MEN’S PLAYER
- 1X BALLON D’OR
- 1X FIFA WORLD CUP
- 1X UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
- 1X LA LIGA
- 1X COPA DEL REY
- 1X SPANISH SUPER CUP
- 1X SERIE A
- 1X ITALIAN SUPER CUP
- 1X FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP
- 2X CONFEDERATIONS CUP
- 1X UEFA SUPERCUP
Personal Life
Kaká married his childhood sweetheart, Caroline Lyra Celico, on December 23, 2005. They have two children – a son, Luca, and a daughter, Isabella. The couple divorced in 2015. Kaka has been dating Brazilian model Carolina Dias since 2016.
He was the youngest UN Ambassador for the ‘World Food Programme’ at the time of his appointment.