The Ballon d'Or winner joined Real Madrid on a £60m deal from Milan, but he came very close to making a world record move to Manchester City in 2009, with a fee agreed between both clubs and a huge pay rise on the table for the Brazilian.
After a prolific career at AC Milan, Kaka's took a first step towards his eventual downfall when he agreed to sign Real Madrid. Now 35, the former Brazil international revealed that he rejected a move to the Premier League in favour of a switch to the Bernabeu. The story could have been quite different.
"Negotiations went very far indeed," Kaka said in the November issue of 'FourFourTwo' magazine. "It came to the point where all of the numbers and the finer details had been discussed. The wages I had been offered were much, much higher than what I was earning with Milan."
"I found myself wondering what my life playing in England would be like, what my routine at this new club would be, how difficult it would be for my kids and my wife to move home. All of these thoughts were swirling inside my head."
Kaka ultimately snubbed the offer to join City, who back in 2009 were not quite as established among Europe's elite as they are today. "I'd absolutely no idea that City were interested in signing me until they'd actually made their official offer to Milan," he continued.
"I came to the conclusion that it was not quite the right time for me to go to City, and the main reason was the uncertainty over the squad-building process," Kaka added. "Nowadays, Manchester City is a much more solid club, so it would be an easier decision if I had to make it today."
"Anyone who receives an offer from them now won't suffer from the same headaches that I experienced nearly a decade ago. To put it simply, if my negotiations with them had taken place this year, my decision would have been very different, that's for sure," the Brazil legend concluded.