You donâÂÂt need FourFourTwo to tell you that ã15m a year is an awful lot of money.
Even with spending money for Mrs Kaka (Carolina), itâÂÂs fair to say that, should he join Manchester City, Kaka will be a new entry in FourFourTwoâÂÂs Football Rich List 2010.
But is it all about the wonga?
From CityâÂÂs and MilanâÂÂs points of view, undoubtedly. City are making a point: money is no object. ItâÂÂs reminiscent of AbramovichâÂÂs early days at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea would routinely splash out double what anyone else was offering to emphasise their spending power (Damien Duff, Shaun Wright-Phillips, etc).
Milan, meanwhile, know that with that money they can rebuild an ageing team.
For Kaka, though, itâÂÂs harder to tell. ItâÂÂs not like heâÂÂs struggling. At Milan he earns around ã9.5m a year, courtesy of a whopping club contract and commercial deals with Adidas and Armani.
A double-your-income offer would be enough to turn anyoneâÂÂs head. But maybe thereâÂÂs more to this than meets the eye.
You see, nine years ago, long before he became a household name, Kaka, a deeply religious man, suffered a life-threatening injury. And that incident has informed his decision-making ever since.
In 2000, at home in Brazil, he smashed his head on the bottom of a swimming pool, fracturing a spinal vertebra, an injury that threatened to end his career as a footballer before it had begun.
âÂÂThe doctors said I was very lucky, that I could have been paralysed,â Kaka told FourFourTwo in November 2007 (read the full interview here). âÂÂBut I think it was God â He saved me from something worse.âÂÂ
Out of action for a year, the Brazilian has no doubt that the incident played a crucial role in his development. âÂÂIt helped shape me, principally as a person, but as a player too. I learned that you have to be determined and give your best every day, because the next day you might not be able to.
...and Sheikh Mansour, or Silvio Berlusconi?
âÂÂI said to myself, âÂÂWhen I get back, IâÂÂm going to do my best because the thing I most love to do I canâÂÂt do now.âÂÂâÂÂ
It was during his recuperation that Kaka made a list of 10 âÂÂshort-termâ goals. Three years later, heâÂÂd achieved the lot.
1. Play football again
Achieved: March 2001
2. Make it into the professional ranks
Achieved: March 2001
3. Get into the squad of 23 used during the championship
Achieved: April 2001
4. Fight for a place in the squad of 18 that go to the concentraçao (pre-match training camp)
Achieved: December 2001
5. Win a regular place in the first team
Achieved: January 2002
6. Play in the Under-20 World Cup
Achieved: June 2001
7. Retain place in the Sao Paulo squad after the Under-20 World Cup
Achieved: August 2001
8. Get called up to the full national squad
Achieved: January 2002
9. Play for the national side
Achieved: January 2002
10. Earn a transfer to a big team in Italy or Spain
Achieved: August 2003
The question now is whether heâÂÂs finally added No.11: make as much money as is humanly possible.
Maybe he has. After all, heâÂÂs won the World Cup, Champions League, Serie A, two types of Super Cup and the Club World Cup, along with the Balon DâÂÂOr and World Player of the Year awards. Oh, and appeared in Time magazineâÂÂs slightly odd 100 Most Influential People In The World list. What does it matter if he doesnâÂÂt challenge for trophies again?
On the other hand, maybe the idea of making a team great appeals to Kaka. At Milan, he was joining a footballing powerhouse; anything he did was merely adding to a rich history. At City, he has the opportunity to write the story.
There is a precedent. Back in 1977, Kevin Keegan turned his back on European Champions Liverpool to join Hamburg, an ambitious, rising club in Germany.
Keegan said he wanted a challenge, to be in on the ground floor and build something big. He instantly became the highest-paid player in Germany and went on to win the Balon DâÂÂOr in successive years.
KK and his XS trunks take on Germany â and win
Like so much that Keegan did, it nearly worked out perfectly. Hamburg won the league title in 1979 but lost the European Cup final to Nottingham Forest in 1980.
(At which point, Keegan went mad, joining Southampton, but letâÂÂs not go there.)
Perhaps Kaka is the modern-day Keegan. A God-fearing dreamer with an idealist streak who wants to change the world.
Then again, ã15m is an awful lot of moneyâ¦
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FourFourTwo.com: More to read...
News: Losing Kaka might not be disaster for Milan
News: Milan meet City to hear Kaka proposals
News: Kaka to ponder move to Man City
Blog: Milan should cash in as City come calling for KakaKaka interviewBlog: Six Brazilians your club should sign
News: Football Rich List 2009
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