City could not convince the Brazilian to sign on the dotted line—not with wages of £500,000 per week nor with the chance to spearhead its shiny new project following the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover—and Kaka would move to Real Madrid less than five months after rejecting Man City.
Upon joining the Spanish giants for £55 million in June 2009, a 27-year-old Kaka became the world’s most expensive footballer. Just weeks later, however, Cristiano Ronaldo smashed that record, and the celebrity status of the Portuguese quickly overshadowed that of the Brazilian.
Things went the same way on the pitch: Ronaldo became a Madrid legend, while Kaka played a bit-part role over four seasons before eventually heading back to Milan for a brief reprise of his glory days.
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