Kaka could follow Andrea Pirlo into retirement after the Brazilian midfielder admitted he doesn’t enjoy playing football anymore.
The 35-year-old is currently competing in the MLS for Orlando City, but despite a glittering carer including a Ballon d’Or and Champions League, Goal reported he admitted his passion for the beautiful game is long gone.
‘I don’t feel joy in playing football any more, as I feel pain every time I finish a match,’ he said. ‘My body doesn’t deal with it very well now and at the age of 35 it is very difficult to recover every time.’
Pirlo, who played alongside Kaka in Milan before the Brazilian left for Real Madrid in 2009, announced he will retire at the close of the calendar year, but at 38 has a few more years under his belt.
A £56million transfer to Madrid seemed to be the beginning of the end for Kaka after he struggled to perform under the Bernabeu lights, making 120 appearances, scoring 29 goals and assisting 39, in his four-year spell.
Kaka though, has claimed he aims to follow in the footsteps of another football icon, Zinedene Zidane.
‘I would love to have a career like Zinedine Zidane,’ he added. ‘He stopped playing, took some time, realised he liked coaching and started working in the youth academy. I could follow a similar path.’
The midfielder was once considered one of the best in world football but with his Orlando team-mates struggling in the MLS Eastern Conference – 10th, seven points clear of bottom side DC United – the Brazilian could hang up his boots in the not so distant future.
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