Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (born April 22, 1982), better known as Kaká, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Brazil and the Serie A club A.C. Milan. He is widely regarded by football pundits as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Biography
Kaká was born in Brasília, Brazil, and his younger brother, Rodrigo Ifrano Dos Santos Leite, known as Digão, has followed in his brother's footsteps and is currently on loan with Serie B team Rimini, after having spent some time in the AC Milan youth squad.

The nickname Kaká, from his native Portuguese, is pronounced as it is spelled. The accent would signify that the stress is on the second syllable.

In Italian, the language of his current team, the phonetic equivalent is written as Kakà, which is used for Italian television graphics. However, the player's shirt name is spelled KAKA' (with an apostrophe, rather than an accented 'A') for both Milan and in the past, Brazil. As of World Cup 2006 the back of his shirt reads 'KAKÁ' for Brazil.

An internet discussion forum explains the nickname as a commonly used shortened form of "Ricardo" in Portuguese. Kaká is supposed to have got his nickname because his little brother Rodrigo could not pronounce the word "Ricardo" when they were young. Rodrigo called his older brother "Caca" which the latter later changed to "Kaká".

Kaká suffered an accident when he made a faulty jump off a diving board, resulting in a vertebra fracture. This could have meant the end of his football career. It did not, however, and he has stated that he feels that Jesus was responsible for his recovery. When AC Milan won the Serie A title in 2004, Kaká subtly sported a shirt with the slogan "I belong to Jesus." He also points his fingers to the sky every time he scores. Kaká is a very devoted Christian and a long-time member of "Athletes For God" with another famous Brazilian player, Cafu. Kaká has stated in interviews that he loves gospel music, namely music by the Christian bands Switchfoot and Sonicflood.

Personal life
Kaká married Caroline Celico on 23 December 2005 in São Paulo. The wedding was attended by fellow players from his national team, as well as other well known international players. Guests included Ronaldo, Adriano, Cafu, Dida, Júlio Baptista and Brazilian national coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. Kaká first met Celico in 2002, and they started dating soon after. The relationship survived Kaká's move from São Paulo to Italy in 2003, while she was still at school. It is likely that Celico will stay in Brazil in the short-run, but the couple plan to live together in Italy soon. Against the stereotypical trend of football stars, Kaká is proud he was a virgin when he married. Celico's mother, Rosangela Lyra, is the director of Dior in Brazil.