Kaka's History

Kaka

Kaka (Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite) born 22 April 1982, commonly known as Kaká, is a Brazilian football midfielder who currently plays for Real Madrid C.F. and the Brazilian national team. He started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. By then, he also played tennis, 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 A.C. 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. In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work.

Club career

São Paulo

Kaka began his career with São Paulo at the age of eight. He signed a contract at fifteen and led the São Paulo youth squad to Copa de Juvenil glory. He made his senior side debut in January 2001 and scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, in addition to leading São Paulo to its first and only Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship, in which he scored two goals in two minutes as a substitute against Botafogo in the final, which São Paulo won 2–1.He scored 10 goals in 22 matches the following season, and by this time his performance was soon attracting attention from European clubs. Kaka made a total of 58 appearances for São Paulo, scoring 23 times.

Milan

Kaka and Brazilian President Lula.The steady European interest in Kaká culminated in his signing with Italian club AC Milan in 2003 for a fee of €8.5 million, described in retrospect as "peanuts" by club owner Silvio Berlusconi.[10] Within a month, he cracked the starting lineup, and his Serie A debut was in a 2–0 win over Ancona. He scored 10 goals in 30 appearances that season, as Milan won the Scudetto and the UEFA Super Cup.2005–06 saw Kaká score his first hat-tricks in domestic competition. On 9 April 2006, he scored his first Rossoneri hat-trick against Chievo; all three goals were scored in the second half. The following season, he scored his first Champions League hat-trick in a 4–1 group stage win over the Belgian side Anderlecht.

Real Madrid

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, two days after the player had left for international duty with Brazil. 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." 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." On 8 June, Milan and Real Madrid confirmed Kaká has moved to the Bernabéu on a six-year deal