Kaka signs for Real Madrid

Spanish football giants Real Madrid have completed the £56m purchase of Brazilian superstar Kaka from Italian club AC Milan in one of football's biggest transfer deals. The fee is the largest ever in pound sterling, eclipsing the £46m that took French midfielder Zinedine Zidane to Real in 2001. But because of fluctuations in exchange rates it works out as less in Euros.

The 27-year-old Kaka, who was world player of the year in 2007, has been with AC Milan for six years but was rumoured to be leaving at the start of the year when Manchester City made a £100m bid for his services.

Born in Brazilia in 1982 Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite began his club career with Sao Paulo and made his senior debut in January 2001. European clubs were quick to notice his talent and he joined AC Milan in 2003. The player differs from many footballing superstars as he is a devout Christian who shuns the limelight.

The signing represents the beginning of a new era for Real Madrid. The club's recently elected president Florentino Perez has vowed to bring back the era of the Galacticos, when Real made a point of signing at least one global superstar every year, including David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane in their pursuit of silverware.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYINGEmily Benammar, the Telegraph: "Real Madrid's latest signing Kaka says he sought advice on the move from former AC Milan teammate David Beckham and revealed he is uncomfortable at the prospect of taking Zinedine Zidane's No 5 shirt. The 27-year-old, whose £56m move has smashed Real's previous transfer record of £47mn paid for Zidane in 2001, said Beckham had helped him make a decision he believes will open the door to an abundance of silverware success."

Simon Cass & Ashley Gray, Daily Mail: "Real, who have agreed a £56m fee with the Serie A club, will make Kaka the best-paid player in the world at £200,000 a week over the six years of his contract - a total of more than £62m... The deal is also fantastic news for Kaka's father and agent Bosco Leite. Some sources claim Leite will pocket as much as £8.7m for his part in the negotiations, while others claim it will be nearer £3.9m. However, it is not all expensive news for Real as they have agreed to spilt Kaka's image rights down the middle. Similar arrangements in the past with Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham saw Real recoup their outlay, according to Perez."

Andrew Fifield, London Evening Standard: "Kaka has blamed the world economic crisis for AC Milan's decision to sell him for a record £59million. The Brazilian playmaker agreed a six-year contract with Real Madrid worth around £170,000 a week after passing a medical late last night... Real's offer proved too tempting for Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi and Kaka insisted the pair had not fallen out over the move. The 27-year-old, who claimed he turned down a £100m transfer to Manchester City in January because he did not want to move in mid-season, said: 'I'm not disappointed in my relationship with Milan. There has never been a financial crisis like this one. The club needed to make this sacrifice and I understand this very well. I don't blame the club for this.'"

ESPN Soccernet: "Real Madrid president Florentino Perez celebrated the completion of the £56m capture of Kaka by warning Manchester United that Cristiano Ronaldo is next on his transfer list. Perez, who oversaw the galacticos era at Madrid between 2000 and 2006, said last week that he would not jeopardise his relationship with United to sign Ronaldo but buoyed by the success of the Kaka deal he was in bullish mood."

Daily Mirror: "Perez has pledged to rebuild the team around the world's greatest players, and he has a £250m war chest to spark a second 'Galactico era' at the Bernabeu. Having lured the likes of Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Zidane and David Beckham to Real earlier in the decade, Perez's stunning buy on his return is Kaka. And he is still interested in Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, Liverpool's Xabi Alonso and Valencia duo David Villa and David Silva."

Ashley Gray, Daily Mail: "Sensational reports in Madrid newspaper Marca - given little credence by our sources - today suggested Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin had personally intervened to try to change the course of the transfer. It was reported that Putin called Berlusconi to try to get Milan to sell the player to Chelsea, owned, of course, by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich."

Gabriele Marcotti, the Times: "Kaka, a devout evangelical Christian, sticks to his faith in a secular world. And that, he says, is what makes him a radical, a non-conformist, a man who walks in his own religious bubble, respecting the choices of others but keeping them at arm’s length... You probably have to go back to Muhammad Ali to find the last global superstar who was so up front and devout in matters of faith, but Kaka's belief is perhaps not that surprising when you consider what he endured. He was born with severe myopia and a rare bone deficiency that stunted his growth. At the age of 16 he cracked a vertebra at the top of his spine in a fall from a water-slide. The doctors told him that 99 per cent of such cases end in paralysis; but the vertebra healed perfectly (and mysteriously) on its own and, within two years, he was making his debut for Brazil." ·