"I felt that the doors of the club were open"- Kaka explains why leaving Real Madrid is his best memory of Los Blancos career
Former Real Madrid star Ricardo Kaka recently said that leaving the club was the best memory of his Los Blancos career.
Los Blancos manager Manuel Pellegrini signed the Brazilian superstar from AC Milan for €67 million in 2009. He arrived at the club in the same window as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
The onus was upon the new arrivals to make the club compete against Pep Guardiola's dominant Barcelona side.
While Kaka enjoyed a good start to his life in Madrid, the player's form started to fade the following season as Jose Mourinho took over from Pellegrini after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria were preferred over the Brazilian by the Portuguese coach.
The 2007 Ballon d'Or winner left the club at the end of the 2012-13 season after making 120 appearances for Real Madrid. He scored 29 goals and provided 39 assists for them.
In a recent interview with MARCA, Kaka made a surprise revelation about his career at Real Madrid, saying:
"It may sound strange, but I prefer the day that it was confirmed that I was leaving. Because I spoke with Florentino, and he told me that they saw me as a great professional who had done everything possible to achieve great results in Madrid. But the injuries and the few minutes that the coach gave me did not allow it.
"That was a great satisfaction because I felt that the doors of the club were open. That is why you will never hear me speak ill of Madrid or José Mourinho. In fact, when I met Florentino in the Champions League final in Paris this year, we embraced."
Former Real Madrid midfielder Ricardo Kaka opens up on Brazil and Neymar
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Neymar Jr. is one of Brazil's best bets for success in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Former Real Madrid midfielder Kaka acknowledged the fact. However, he mentioned that having young talents like Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo and Antony will help Neymar.
Here's what the 2002 World Cup winner said:
"Neymar is going to be the leader of Brazil in Qatar 2022. But it is very important that he has players like Vinicius by his side. In the 2018 World Cup, 'Ney' was the absolute protagonist, but now we have 'Vini', Raphinha, Richarlison, Antony. ... Who are not young promises but realities.
"Vinicius, for example, is a star at Madrid and has scored the goal in the last Champions League final. This takes some pressure off Neymar, something that is very favorable for our interests."