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#8 Kaka
Kaka is the last player to win the Ballon d’Or before Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi took ever.
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He was part of Brazil’s 23-man squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup but only played 25 minutes at the tournament, all of which came against Costa Rica in the first round with Brazil already winning the game 5-2.
Despite his limited role for Brazil at the World Cup, Kaka’s form at club level for Sao Paulo was attracting interest from Europe’s biggest and he signed for defending European Champions, AC Milan, in 2003.
He had his first shot at the Champions League trophy in 2005 against Liverpool but ended up on the losing side. Two years later, he was part of the Milan side that played the same opposition in the final and this time, he ended up on the winning side.
Although Kaka didn’t score in the final, he had a tremendous run in the Champions League and ended it as the tournament’s top scorer with 10 goals.
In the same year, he won the Ballon d’Or with 444 points ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo with 277 points and Lionel Messi with 255 points.
With the FIFA World Cup 2018 on the horizon, can any other player join this exclusive club? Let us know in your comments below!
