About Kaka

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite commonly known as Kaka, is a Brazilian football midfielder who currently plays for Real Madrid C.F. and the Brazilian national team. He started his foot ball career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, 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. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the United Nations' World Food Programme.

Nickname

His nickname is pronounced as it is spelled, with stress on the second syllable and is a common term of endearment of "Ricardo" in Brazil. In Kaká's case, it was born from younger brother Digão calling him "Caca" due to his inability to pronounce "Ricardo" when they were young; it eventually evolved into Kaká.