Throughout the 2000s, Kaka was one of the most explosive midfielders in football. The one-time Ballon d'Or winner won a plethora of trophies during his career, including a Champions League title and the Serie A. He played for some of the biggest clubs on the planet in AC Milan and Real Madrid and had the chance to team up with some of the best footballers in the world.
Kaka got to play with the likes of Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo. His list of former teammates is a who's who of the best footballers to ever play the beautiful game. He very rarely got to play with any top Englishmen, though. In a recent interview with SportBible, he was tasked with naming three English players he would have liked to play with and his named three of the greatest Premier League players ever.
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The Three English Players Kaka Wishes He Played With
He included two former Manchester United men
When asked to name the three English players that he wished he had the opportunity to team up with, Kaka named three of the greatest footballers in Premier League history. He picked two Manchester United legends in Wayne Rooney, the club's all-time leading goalscorer, and Rio Ferdinand. The two won everything there was to win under Sir Alex Ferguson and clearly made an impression on the Brazilian. He also named Steven Gerrard. The Liverpool icon is one of the best midfielders in Premier League history and faced off against Kaka in two Champions League finals.
Speaking to SportBible, the former midfielder discussed the three as his ideal teammates and said:
"Well, in the period [I played], I had very good battles against Wayne Rooney, I think it would’ve been nice to play with him. I would say Rio Ferdinand, always tough to play against him, and I would also say Steven Gerrard.
"We had two Champions League finals (2005 and 2007). And he’s a player that I admire, really love the way that he played, and he was very elegant on the field and very fair. I would say those names."
Between Rooney and Ferdinand, they played a combined total of 1014 games for United, while Gerrard represented his boyhood Reds on 710 occasions. The three are all some of the greatest English players of the 21st century and it's easy to see why Kaka would have loved to play with each and every one of them.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and accurate as of 25/05/2025