Full name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite.
Date of birth: May 15th 1982.
Place of birth: Brasilia, the administrative capital of the Brazilian Federal District.
Height: 1.82 m (6 ft). At age 12, Kaká was considerably shorter than his father and brother; medical tests showed that his bones suffered growth delay; for two years, Kaká was submitted to growth treatment, to reach normal height.
Kaká was born in Brasília. From age 4 to 7, his family lived in Cuiabá, followi
ng his father, a civil engineer.At age 7, the family moved to the city of São Paulo, in the neighbourhood of Morumbi, near the Stadium of São Paulo FC. As FIFA says, "Kaka fails to fit the Brazilian stereotype of the kid from the favela who first played the game in the street with a ball made from rags. Coming from a comfortable and cultured family, Kaka kept up his studies for as long as they were compatible with his profession.". His talent was soon recognized. A professor called the family and suggested enrolling him in a football school. At age 8, Kaká was playing with São Paulo FC, where he succeeded in all categories. At age 14, Kaká used to wake up two hours early, to keep up with his studies; Kaká managed to conclude the intermediary cycle (eleven years) in Brazil, before dedicating exclusivel
y to football.Kaká is religious. Since early adol
escence, he's been attending the evangelical Church Renascer. Religious, Kakácommemorates GodHis religiosity grew stronger after an accident in 2000. During holidays, Kaká dove into a shallow pool and beat the head against the floor; immediate exams didn't show anything. A few days later, while training in São Paulo, Kaká felt a strong pain and found out that he had broken a cervical vertebra; Kaká had to wear a treatment jacket for two months. Returning to football was uncertain; "the doctors said I was lucky; I am certain that it was God's will", says Kaká. In 2000, Kaká was champion of the Junior championship, in São Paulo. In 2001, he became professional; his first match was on February 2nd, and his first goal on February 5th. In the decision of the high profile Rio-São Paulo tournament, Kaká (then Cacá) scored the two goals that gave the title to São Paulo over Botafogo. .On 31st January 2002, Kaká debuted with the National Team, playing against Bolivia; on March 7th, against Iceland, he scored his first goal.In 2002, Kaká went to the 2002 World Cup. He played only a few minutes in the match against Costa Rica. In the final match, against Germany, when the Brazilian victory was defined, coach Scolari attempted to put Kaká to play; the last images of the game show Kaká waving desperately to the referee, asking for a break, but there was no time. Kaká was, anyway, world champion.
ng his father, a civil engineer.At age 7, the family moved to the city of São Paulo, in the neighbourhood of Morumbi, near the Stadium of São Paulo FC. As FIFA says, "Kaka fails to fit the Brazilian stereotype of the kid from the favela who first played the game in the street with a ball made from rags. Coming from a comfortable and cultured family, Kaka kept up his studies for as long as they were compatible with his profession.". His talent was soon recognized. A professor called the family and suggested enrolling him in a football school. At age 8, Kaká was playing with São Paulo FC, where he succeeded in all categories. At age 14, Kaká used to wake up two hours early, to keep up with his studies; Kaká managed to conclude the intermediary cycle (eleven years) in Brazil, before dedicating exclusivel
y to football.Kaká is religious. Since early adol
escence, he's been attending the evangelical Church Renascer. Religious, Kakácommemorates GodHis religiosity grew stronger after an accident in 2000. During holidays, Kaká dove into a shallow pool and beat the head against the floor; immediate exams didn't show anything. A few days later, while training in São Paulo, Kaká felt a strong pain and found out that he had broken a cervical vertebra; Kaká had to wear a treatment jacket for two months. Returning to football was uncertain; "the doctors said I was lucky; I am certain that it was God's will", says Kaká. In 2000, Kaká was champion of the Junior championship, in São Paulo. In 2001, he became professional; his first match was on February 2nd, and his first goal on February 5th. In the decision of the high profile Rio-São Paulo tournament, Kaká (then Cacá) scored the two goals that gave the title to São Paulo over Botafogo. .On 31st January 2002, Kaká debuted with the National Team, playing against Bolivia; on March 7th, against Iceland, he scored his first goal.In 2002, Kaká went to the 2002 World Cup. He played only a few minutes in the match against Costa Rica. In the final match, against Germany, when the Brazilian victory was defined, coach Scolari attempted to put Kaká to play; the last images of the game show Kaká waving desperately to the referee, asking for a break, but there was no time. Kaká was, anyway, world champion. São Paulo FC and Kaká had a non-official agreement with Milan AC: he would stay in Brazil until 2004 and then would move to Italy; São Paulo could collect a few championships, and Milan would have a more mature player. However, feeling that other teams were talking to Kaká, the Milan directors (particularly Leonardo, who played with the Brazilian team in the cups of 1994 and 1998) decided, in 2003, to antecipate the transfer.
Kaká was an instant hit in Italy. In 2004, Milan won the Italian league. In 2005, Kaká was elected the best midfielder in Europe by UEFA.In December 2005, Kaká married Caroline Celico, who attended the same evangelical Church as him. In Brazil, Kaká was as popular among men as among women; thousands of fan pages maintained by young admirers appeared when Kaká was in Brazil, and failed to be maintained after he went away (and got married).
In 2006, only 24 years old, Kaká is one of the main Brazilian players in the World Cup.Despite the abundance of good players, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira already said that Kaká will start as a principle. The groups formed by Kaká, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Adriano is being called "the Magic Square" by Brazilian media and fans.
The truth about Kaka:
The truth about Kaka, the Brazilian footballer set to take Britain by storm Exclusive: By Ryan Parry And Emily Nash 16/01/2009
He's the God-fearing Brazilian superstar who could rescue Manchester City's flagging football dreams. And AC Milan ace Kaka is a man born to defy almost every football stereotype.
Unlike many money-obsessed Premiership stars, the devout Christian prefers Bible studies and church to nightclubs and booze. He donates 10 per cent of his salary to his church and was, famously, a virgin when he married stunning wife Caroline Celico.
Since the age of 14, Kaka has been a member of Igreja Renascer em Cristo, Be Born Again In Christ, a Brazilian protestant sect. The 26-year-old's trademark goal celebration is to point his fingers to heaven, thanking the Almighty.
And after winning the Champions League with Milan in 2007, Kaka showe
d off a Tshirt proclaiming "I belong to Jesus". Manchester City, bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan last September with his s15billion oil fortune, is in talks about signing the superstar in a record breaking s108million deal. He will join fellow Brazilian international Robinho, snapped up by City for a 'mere' s32.5million, as part of a football revolution that has so far faltered, with the team currently 15th in the Premier League. Last night his move remained shrouded in mystery even to Kaka's close relatives. His grandmother Vera told the Mirror: "I haven't talked to him yet. All I know is what I've read in the newspaper. "But I believe he's going to stay at Milan. He likes it very much."
The lure of a s500,000-a-week salary could entice Kaka, but not out of greed, more out of a desire to help others with the money.
The footballer, real name Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, was brought up by fervently Christian parents. His younger brother Rodrigo, gave him his nickname because he could not pronounce Ricardo.
Kaka's story contradicts the familiar tale of the poor boy that escapes Brazil's slums through his prowess at football.
Far from being raised in poverty, Kaka was brought up in a well-educated family in the relatively prosperous capital city Brasilia.
When he was six the family moved to a middle-class suburb of Sao Paulo where he became involved with the city's main football team. Kaka was a late developer, due to a slim frame.
But he was put on a special diet to beef him up and has put on two and a half stone since his professional debut at 17.
His father, Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite, was a civil engineer and his mother, Simone Cristina dos Santos Leite, worked as a teacher.
As a young player Kaka used some of his first football wages to put his younger brother through college.
And to add to his achievements he was made the UN World Food Programme's youngest Ambassador Against Hunger in 2004.
He said at the time: "I hope that my own experience with Sao Paulo and AC Milan can inspire hungry children to believe they can overcome the odds and lead a normal life."
The attacking midfielder also believes that God saved his own career. In October 2000, at the age of 18, he was lucky not to be crippled when he suffered an horrific back injury in a swimming pool accident.
Kaka was visiting his grandparents in Caldas Novas, Brazil, and while there he slipped on a swimming pool slide.
He fell into the shallow water and hit his head hard on the bottom of the pool, twisting his neck and fracturing vertebrae.
But doctors were amazed by his recovery.
Advertisement - article continues below »
They said Kaka was lucky to be able to even walk. To the young player, however, it had nothing to do with luck - God had intervened. "Back at home we always thanked God because we knew that it was his hand that had protected me," he said.
It took Kaka nearly a year to recover enough to play in the first team of Brazil's top side Sao Paulo. He scored two goals in a cup final after coming on as a substitute with 14 minutes left.
He went on to be part of Brazil's World Cupwinning squad in 2002 and was named Serie A Footballer of the Year in Italy in 2004.
In 2007 he was awarded the ultimate prize - FIFA World Player of the Year.
But Kaka presented his church with the trophy, which is now displayed in an exhibition dedicated to the player and his faith.
But the Reborn in Christ Church in Sao Paulo was rocked scandal when its leaders Estevam Hernandes Filho and Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes were sentenced to five months' jail in America in 2007 after breaching US customs regulations by failing to declare 56,467 they were importing to Miami. The married couple are also being investigated by Brazilian authorities for financial malpractice.
However, the incident did not rock Kaka's faith. He prays almost every day, always carries the Bible with him wherever he goes and his favourite music is gospel. He is also a member of Brazil's Athletes for Christ, which includes fellow World Cup winners Edmilson and Lucio.
Explaining his faith, he has said: "I was born into an evangelical Christian home.
But when I was baptised in 1994, something supernatural happened to me.
"I cannot explain it, but after that experience I got closer to God; more in tune with him. At that moment I was really born spiritually." The star has even taken a course in theology with a view to one day becoming a Protestant pastor. And his devout attitude meant that he remained a virgin until he married wife Caroline in December 2005.
He met her four years earlier when she was a 14-year-old pupil but they waited until she was 18 before marrying.
He's the God-fearing Brazilian superstar who could rescue Manchester City's flagging football dreams. And AC Milan ace Kaka is a man born to defy almost every football stereotype.
Unlike many money-obsessed Premiership stars, the devout Christian prefers Bible studies and church to nightclubs and booze. He donates 10 per cent of his salary to his church and was, famously, a virgin when he married stunning wife Caroline Celico.
Since the age of 14, Kaka has been a member of Igreja Renascer em Cristo, Be Born Again In Christ, a Brazilian protestant sect. The 26-year-old's trademark goal celebration is to point his fingers to heaven, thanking the Almighty.
And after winning the Champions League with Milan in 2007, Kaka showe
d off a Tshirt proclaiming "I belong to Jesus". Manchester City, bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan last September with his s15billion oil fortune, is in talks about signing the superstar in a record breaking s108million deal. He will join fellow Brazilian international Robinho, snapped up by City for a 'mere' s32.5million, as part of a football revolution that has so far faltered, with the team currently 15th in the Premier League. Last night his move remained shrouded in mystery even to Kaka's close relatives. His grandmother Vera told the Mirror: "I haven't talked to him yet. All I know is what I've read in the newspaper. "But I believe he's going to stay at Milan. He likes it very much."The lure of a s500,000-a-week salary could entice Kaka, but not out of greed, more out of a desire to help others with the money.
The footballer, real name Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, was brought up by fervently Christian parents. His younger brother Rodrigo, gave him his nickname because he could not pronounce Ricardo.
Kaka's story contradicts the familiar tale of the poor boy that escapes Brazil's slums through his prowess at football.
Far from being raised in poverty, Kaka was brought up in a well-educated family in the relatively prosperous capital city Brasilia.
When he was six the family moved to a middle-class suburb of Sao Paulo where he became involved with the city's main football team. Kaka was a late developer, due to a slim frame.
But he was put on a special diet to beef him up and has put on two and a half stone since his professional debut at 17.
His father, Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite, was a civil engineer and his mother, Simone Cristina dos Santos Leite, worked as a teacher.
As a young player Kaka used some of his first football wages to put his younger brother through college.
And to add to his achievements he was made the UN World Food Programme's youngest Ambassador Against Hunger in 2004.
He said at the time: "I hope that my own experience with Sao Paulo and AC Milan can inspire hungry children to believe they can overcome the odds and lead a normal life."
The attacking midfielder also believes that God saved his own career. In October 2000, at the age of 18, he was lucky not to be crippled when he suffered an horrific back injury in a swimming pool accident.
Kaka was visiting his grandparents in Caldas Novas, Brazil, and while there he slipped on a swimming pool slide.
He fell into the shallow water and hit his head hard on the bottom of the pool, twisting his neck and fracturing vertebrae.
But doctors were amazed by his recovery.
Advertisement - article continues below »
They said Kaka was lucky to be able to even walk. To the young player, however, it had nothing to do with luck - God had intervened. "Back at home we always thanked God because we knew that it was his hand that had protected me," he said.
It took Kaka nearly a year to recover enough to play in the first team of Brazil's top side Sao Paulo. He scored two goals in a cup final after coming on as a substitute with 14 minutes left.
He went on to be part of Brazil's World Cupwinning squad in 2002 and was named Serie A Footballer of the Year in Italy in 2004.
In 2007 he was awarded the ultimate prize - FIFA World Player of the Year.
But Kaka presented his church with the trophy, which is now displayed in an exhibition dedicated to the player and his faith.
But the Reborn in Christ Church in Sao Paulo was rocked scandal when its leaders Estevam Hernandes Filho and Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes were sentenced to five months' jail in America in 2007 after breaching US customs regulations by failing to declare 56,467 they were importing to Miami. The married couple are also being investigated by Brazilian authorities for financial malpractice.
However, the incident did not rock Kaka's faith. He prays almost every day, always carries the Bible with him wherever he goes and his favourite music is gospel. He is also a member of Brazil's Athletes for Christ, which includes fellow World Cup winners Edmilson and Lucio.
Explaining his faith, he has said: "I was born into an evangelical Christian home.
But when I was baptised in 1994, something supernatural happened to me.
"I cannot explain it, but after that experience I got closer to God; more in tune with him. At that moment I was really born spiritually." The star has even taken a course in theology with a view to one day becoming a Protestant pastor. And his devout attitude meant that he remained a virgin until he married wife Caroline in December 2005.
He met her four years earlier when she was a 14-year-old pupil but they waited until she was 18 before marrying.
In 2007 he told Vanity Fair: "The Bible teaches that true love waits until marriage.
If our life today is so beautiful, I think it is because we waited."
Caroline, whose mum Rosangela Lyra is director of fashion house Dior in Brazil
and whose dad Celso Celico is an entrepreneur, is now studying in Milan for a business degree. She gave birth to their first child, Luca, in June last year.When it comes to football, to AC Milan fans Kaka is a God himself.
He was sworn in as an Italian citizen on February 12, 2007 and features prominently in Adidas advertising and also has a modelling contract with Armani. At the moment he can be seen in a TV advert for Ringo Biscuits in which he drives around Italy showing kids how to do keepie-ups.
Kaka's moral attitude means that you will never see him losing his temper, lashing out or swearing like so many players. He once said: "One needs to have tranquility, calmness. "I will not brawl, because I am not a brawler. I am not supposed to be punching people up on the field or swearing." "I seek to be a role model in the club. I seek to demonstrate what God has done for me and that He can do it in their lives as well." Kaka's devotion will no doubt be lost on City's army of fans, but one thing is for sure - they are praying he is on is way to the City of Manchester stadium.
10 things you need to know about Kaka - video
Kaka's stats of grace
Man City's s32.5m Brazilian striker Robinho is Britain's current record transfer
10% of his income is donated to the church he belongs to
8 age at which Kaka joined his first club Sao Paulo
62: Number of caps he has won for Brazil
22: His shirt number at Italian Serie A club AC Milan
BBC News about Kaka:
AC Milan fans have protested outside the club's headquarters over the possible sale of Brazilian star Kaka to Manchester City in a £100m transfer.
While hundreds of fans blocked a road outside Milan's offices, Kaka's father held a series of talks over the move.
Bosco Leite met Milan vice president Adriano Galliani over his 26-year-old son' future and was due to talk to City's executive chairman Garry Cook.
Earlier, Galliani met Milan owner and Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
City's astonishing bid - £50m more than the current world transfer fee record Real Madrid paid to Juventus to sign Zinedine Zidane in 2001 - has reportedly been accepted.
But City boss Mark Hughes said the club was "a million miles" from sealing the deal, with Kaka said to be undecided, and urged patience as the newly rich Eastlands club attempt to pull off the complex deal.
I don't think he will leave
David Beckham "The scale is too large and there are too many elements to it," Hughes told BBC Sport. "We're a millions miles away from actually concluding the deal.
"It's not a case of talking to the club, talking to the boy and getting the deal done in 48 hours. You have to give it the time it deserves.
"If we can make it happen, we will do I'm sure because the owners have a real desire to bring the best players in the world to this club," added Hughes, who also stressed Kaka's reported £500,000-a-week wages had not been discussed
Over the weekend Berlusconi admitted the scale of City's offer could make it difficult for the club to keep hold of the Brazilian.
"Nothing has been decided yet, but it's very hard to make someone stay who is going to earn certain figures," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport's website. RECORD TRANSFERS £46m Zinedine Zidane (Juventus - Real Madrid), July 2001£37m Luis Figo (Barcelona - Real Madrid), July 2000£34m Hernan Jorge Crespo (Parma - Lazio), July 2000£33m Gianluigi Buffon (Parma - Juventus), July 2001£32.5m Robinho (Real Madrid - Man City), Aug 2008£31m Christian Vieri (Lazio - Inter Milan), June 1999£30.75m Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham - Manchester United), Aug 2008
Kaka played in Milan's 1-0 win over Fiorentina at the San Siro on Saturday, with the home fans displaying banners such as "Kaka is Priceless" and "Hands Off Kaka", and singing "Don't Sell Kaka".
England international David Beckham, who is currently on loan at Milan from US club LA Galaxy, has predicted the Brazilian would opt to stay at the San Siro.
"I don't think anybody in the dressing room is thinking about how much money they can earn," said the England international.
"It's about playing with the best team, with the best players in the world and winning trophies, and it's not always about money.
"Riccardo doesn't need my advice. He will decide what he wants to do, but he loves Milan. I don't think he will leave." 606: DEBATE To pay someone £500,000 per week to kick a football, no matter how brilliantly, perfectly illustrates just how insane our world actually is
BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher
Kaka joined Serie A giants Milan from Sao Paulo in 2003 and has since won the Italian league title, Champions League and Club World Cup.
The attacking midfielder has scored 86 goals in 244 appearances for Milan. He has also picked up 62 caps for Brazil and scored 23 goals.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, estimated to be worth £15bn, took over as City owner in September 2008 and extensive funds have been made available to Hughes.
Mark Hughes interviewSo far he has secured the services of Wayne Bridge in and Craig Bellamy during the January transfer window.
Kaka is under contract at the San Siro until 2013, and although he stated last February that he wanted to remain at Milan for the rest of his career, he did hint at a desire to play in the Premier League - which he has described as the "best championship in the world".
While hundreds of fans blocked a road outside Milan's offices, Kaka's father held a series of talks over the move.
Bosco Leite met Milan vice president Adriano Galliani over his 26-year-old son' future and was due to talk to City's executive chairman Garry Cook.
Earlier, Galliani met Milan owner and Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
City's astonishing bid - £50m more than the current world transfer fee record Real Madrid paid to Juventus to sign Zinedine Zidane in 2001 - has reportedly been accepted.
But City boss Mark Hughes said the club was "a million miles" from sealing the deal, with Kaka said to be undecided, and urged patience as the newly rich Eastlands club attempt to pull off the complex deal.
I don't think he will leave
David Beckham "The scale is too large and there are too many elements to it," Hughes told BBC Sport. "We're a millions miles away from actually concluding the deal.
"It's not a case of talking to the club, talking to the boy and getting the deal done in 48 hours. You have to give it the time it deserves.
"If we can make it happen, we will do I'm sure because the owners have a real desire to bring the best players in the world to this club," added Hughes, who also stressed Kaka's reported £500,000-a-week wages had not been discussed
Over the weekend Berlusconi admitted the scale of City's offer could make it difficult for the club to keep hold of the Brazilian.
"Nothing has been decided yet, but it's very hard to make someone stay who is going to earn certain figures," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport's website. RECORD TRANSFERS £46m Zinedine Zidane (Juventus - Real Madrid), July 2001£37m Luis Figo (Barcelona - Real Madrid), July 2000£34m Hernan Jorge Crespo (Parma - Lazio), July 2000£33m Gianluigi Buffon (Parma - Juventus), July 2001£32.5m Robinho (Real Madrid - Man City), Aug 2008£31m Christian Vieri (Lazio - Inter Milan), June 1999£30.75m Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham - Manchester United), Aug 2008
Kaka played in Milan's 1-0 win over Fiorentina at the San Siro on Saturday, with the home fans displaying banners such as "Kaka is Priceless" and "Hands Off Kaka", and singing "Don't Sell Kaka".
England international David Beckham, who is currently on loan at Milan from US club LA Galaxy, has predicted the Brazilian would opt to stay at the San Siro.
"I don't think anybody in the dressing room is thinking about how much money they can earn," said the England international.
"It's about playing with the best team, with the best players in the world and winning trophies, and it's not always about money.
"Riccardo doesn't need my advice. He will decide what he wants to do, but he loves Milan. I don't think he will leave." 606: DEBATE To pay someone £500,000 per week to kick a football, no matter how brilliantly, perfectly illustrates just how insane our world actually is
BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher
Kaka joined Serie A giants Milan from Sao Paulo in 2003 and has since won the Italian league title, Champions League and Club World Cup.
The attacking midfielder has scored 86 goals in 244 appearances for Milan. He has also picked up 62 caps for Brazil and scored 23 goals.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, estimated to be worth £15bn, took over as City owner in September 2008 and extensive funds have been made available to Hughes.
Mark Hughes interviewSo far he has secured the services of Wayne Bridge in and Craig Bellamy during the January transfer window.
Kaka is under contract at the San Siro until 2013, and although he stated last February that he wanted to remain at Milan for the rest of his career, he did hint at a desire to play in the Premier League - which he has described as the "best championship in the world".
Kaká: A footballer of faith and fableThe Brazilian who dazzles at AC Milan is feted not only for his talent but also for his Christian beliefs and family values, a potential conflict as Manchester City attempt to make him the world's most expensive playerBuzz up! Digg it
Ned Temko The Observer, Sunday 18 January 2009 Article history Milan's Brazilian attacker Kaká - a family man. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Amid the soaring sermons and gospel hymns in evangelical churches across Brazil this morning, worshippers may well be whispering an additional prayer of thanks - for a Muslim royal family half a world away. This is no simple exercise in interfaith harmony. It is one of the odder offshoots of an audacious bid by the Abu Dhabi owners of Manchester City Football Club to lure one of the world's most gifted players from AC Milan to the English Premiership.
With the offer of a record-smashing transfer fee of more than £100m on the table, and weekly salary estimates ranging as high as £500,000, this is clearly no ordinary deal. But Man City's quarry - the Brazilian star Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, more widely known as Kaká - is no ordinary footballer. And, as the congregations of South America's Apostolic Church of Rebirth in Christ can attest, it is not just Kaká's prodigious skills on the pitch that set him apart.
When he captured Fifa's World Footballer of the Year award two years ago, he didn't bathe it in champagne, go clubbing and stash it on his mantelpiece. He flew back home to São Paulo, where it was given pride of place in a special exhibition at the evangelical movement's city centre headquarters. And for years, as the former São Paulo youth team player progressed from local hero to Milan star and now the most sought-after footballer in the world, he has regularly tithed a portion of his earnings to his church.
Kaká does not drink or chase women. He says that he was a virgin until he married his childhood sweetheart Caroline Celico four years ago. He describes the birth of their first child - and his "victories and conquests" in football - as gifts from God.
And so too, he has always been convinced, was the outcome of a freak accident suffered at the age of 18, when he was beginning to emerge as the special footballing talent he has become. Relaxing at a swimming club, he plunged down a waterslide and hit his head on the bottom of the pool. He had broken one of his vertebrae and the doctors feared the injury might leave him paralysed. Within weeks, he was back on the pitch, a recovery that to this day he believes had nothing to do with luck and everything to do with God.
His favourite book, he says, is the Bible. His favourite band is a gospel rock group called Resgate, "redemption" in Portuguese, who are informally known to its fans as the Four Bishops.
When Kaká scores a goal - something he has done nearly 90 times in his five-and-a-half seasons in Italy - he thrusts his arms heavenwards in gratitude. When Brazil won the World Cup in 2002, and again when Milan triumphed in the Champions League final of 2007, he tore off his team strip to reveal a T-shirt emblazoned with the words: "I belong to Jesus."
The tantalising question now is whether Kaká may soon also belong to Manchester City - and just what he will make of football in England and what it will make of him.
The shock of swapping Milan, a city and a club where, just last week, he said he "hoped to grow old", for rain-lashed trips to Bolton or Newcastle in the dead of winter may prove bracing enough. But there must surely also be the prospect of culture shock. One newspaper sports journalist who has followed the Brazilian's career quipped last night, with Man City preparing for make-or-break talks on the deal, that Kaká seemed "just a really nice guy... in a profession of arseholes".
Kaká doesn't see things that way. The expert Italian football commentator Gabriele Marcotti vividly recalls interviewing Kaká and asking whether his amiable, polite, openly religious demeanour risked getting him branded as "boring" in the wider world of football.
Kaká seemed affronted by the idea. He was, he insisted, a "radical". As a Christian, he was able to respect other players' different choice of lifestyles. But, he said: "I have my life, I have my values. And compared with much of society, especially football, that is radical."
On the pitch, Kaká is anything but a radical. The beauty of his football, a chorus of coaches and fellow players around the football world agrees, lies in its simplicity. His preference is to operate between the midfield and a main striker. It is a role he played with particularly deadly effect in his incisive passes to Andriy Shevchenko - before the Ukrainian left Milan for Chelsea in an ill-fated "big money" deal in 2006. That deal, at a mere £30m, the sheikhs of Man City are now determined to make look like very small change.
But Kaká is a special kind of goal-scorer, too. Rarely bothering with the snaky runs and stepovers that have become Cristiano Ronaldo's stock-in-trade on the red side of Manchester, he is quick, darting and direct.
"He will always try to go vertically rather than horizontally," says AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti. "He will never take the extra, unnecessary touch."
And the "scary" thing, adds one football journalist, is that Kaká is still just 26 years old, entering the prime of his career. He could get even better.
Still, for Ancelotti, Kaká's main strength lies not just in his feet but in his head. "He is an extremely calm and composed boy who is never prone to either euphoria or depression," says the coach who still hopes to hold on to his star.
"He is," adds Ancelotti, "a great champion."
Unlike an array of other Brazilian stars who honed their childhood skills on the streets of the teeming favelas, Kaká was born into a comfortable middle-class home in Brasilia. Bosco, his father, an engineer, moved the family to São Paulo when Kaká was seven.
At each step of his son's footballing career, a path he began late by Brazilian standards, having once dreamed of trying his hand at professional tennis instead, Bosco has been a source of advice, perspective and rock-solid support. While he is said to be in São Paolo on holiday, if this week's talk go ahead, he will again be at Kaká's side.
Over the next few days, Kaká's levelheadedness is likely to be tested more severely than at any time in his career. If the swirl of leaks and rumours is to be believed, the sums of money which Man City's owners are offering are mind-bogglingly large. The reported £105m transfer fee would more than double the previous record - Zinedine Zidane's £45m move from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001. The weekly salary figures being bandied about would dwarf even the paychecks of Ronaldo, John Terry or Frank Lampard.
The attractions for AC Milan's owner Silvio Berlusconi, are not hard to fathom. After all, he originally signed Kaká for €8.5m, a price tag he later described as "peanuts". A more than tenfold return on that investment is not exactly bad business. AC Milan could rebuild the entire team with the resulting war chest.
But for Kaká, the choice is likely to be nowhere near so easy. Nowadays, other big-name footballers caught up in transfer speculation almost routinely tell reporters, or their current team website, that they are loyal to the club and are not in the football just for the money. In Kaká's case, say those who know him, it may just happen to be true.
He and his young family have built roots in Milan. He recently took Italian citizenship. There seems no reason to doubt that, until the dazzling transfer proposal landed on his club owner's desk, he assumed he would be staying put for some years yet.
And Kaká is already wealthy, way beyond the needs of a lifestyle where a Resgate CD, a glimpse through the Bible and a few hours at home with his wife and their infant son Luca appear to hold far greater allure than flash cars or casinos.
His main consideration in last week's meetings in England, according to credible reports from Italian football circles, is likely to be the footballing implications of a move to Man City, a club which, despite signing Kaká's fellow Brazilian Robinho at the start of this season, is hovering perilously close to the relegation zone with no realistic prospect of Champions League football until the year after next at the earliest.
And the voices he will heed most closely are his faith and his family, especially that of his father.
The club ownership will be talking money. Mark Hughes, his would-be manager, will be talking football. Both, even to a most unusual star like Kaká, will no doubt matter.
But as the Man City strategists ponder their approach and try to anticipate their chances of making him their very own galáctico, they may do best simply to cross their fingers.
After all, Kaká himself, when trying to explain to an interviewer what had inspired him at crossroads in his life and career, suggested that the key had come to him when he was still very young.
"I learned," he said, "that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not
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