Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (better known as Ricardo Kaká) used to be one of the top soccer players in the world before injuries slowed him down and other top players started replacing him. Before all that, he was known as the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2007. During that year, the attacking midfielder was in his first tenure with A.C. Milan and scored 19 goals and 12 assists and that’s including internationally with the country of Brazil. After that year, he was transferred to Real Madrid for the second largest transfer fee of all time. He had a lot of success there until other superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema took over the team. Now, Kaká is playing for A.C. Milan again where on January 7th, 2014, he scored his 100th goal for the club and then 30 minutes later scored another against Atalanta. He currently has 7 goals and 4 assists for his team.
The Brazilian soccer player is known much more than his play on the pitch. He is known to publicly profess his faith by wearing a T-shirt under his jersey that reads: “I Belong to Jesus.” He also wears Adidas cleats that say on the side: “Jesus in First Place.” Kaká is a devout evangelical Christian who was an active member of the São Paulo-based Rebirth in Christ Church. He decided to live his life for Christ at the young age of 12.
“I learned that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not,” Kaká said. “To those who already have Jesus: you have made the best choice and are in the best team. Go ahead. Do not give up. The fight is great, but we can only win being on Jesus’ side. To those who have not yet surrendered their lives to Jesus: What are you doing being outside of this team?! Come to learn the Word of God, come to know who God really is. Stop eating cookies, while God offers us a banquet.” (Credit: beliefnet.com)
He’s been the Italian league’s Player of the Year twice, Europe’s top scorer of the year twice, and FIFA’s World Player of the Year. After winning all of those prestigious awards, he is humble in his walk with Christ, always thanking him for the win through prayer and wearing clothes that glorify Him. Since November 2004, he has served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the UN’s World Food Programme, the youngest to do so at the time of his appointment. He is also part of various charities such as Goal4Africa, United Nations Development Programme and THORN (which helps abolish modern day slavery, punish perpetrators and free the innocent and exploited victims). Kaká is definitely a great influence to the world, seeing that soccer is the most popular sport on the globe. The 31-year-old hopes to continue living his life through Jesus as he keeps playing soccer for A.C. Milan.
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