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Sir Alex Ferguson has seen it all during his time in football; he was even around to see the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona play.
The iconic Scot managed Cristiano Ronaldo and faced Lionel Messi in two Champions League finals. In short, Ferguson has cast his watchful eye over the greatest footballers to ever live.
When asked to name the best players in the world all the way back in 2009, however, the Manchester United icon paid one man the ultimate backhanded compliment.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Summary of Ballon d'Or Winner
REUTERS/Phil Noble
When discussing the biggest talents in world football at the time, Ferguson praised Messi, who was on his way to superstardom. He also name-dropped AC Milan and Brazil icon Kaka.
But while claiming the midfielder had 'impressed', the Scottish coach also said he never found Kaka to be breathtaking. He said (per talkSPORT):
Ballon d'Or Power Rankings
Ballon d'Or Power Rankings
He went on to say that one of Kaka's long-term teammates at the San Siro was his 'favourite' player. Ferguson waxed lyrical about Italian stalwart Paolo Maldini, who he admitted he tried to sign:
Fergie continued: "Zinedine Zidane was brilliant but without a doubt, Paolo Maldini has been my favourite – he has a wonderful presence, competitive spirit, athleticism, and although not the world's greatest technically, he has influenced all the AC Milan teams during his wonderfully successful era."
Kaka, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2007, only faced the Old Trafford outfit on two occasions. Both came in the 2006-07 Champions League, as his brace at the Theatre of Dreams knocked Ferguson's side out of the competition. He netted in the home leg of that tie, too.
Ferguson Tried to Sign Kaka at Man Utd
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According to the man himself, Kaka could've been a Man Utd player during Ferguson's historic reign at the English giants. In an interview with FourFourTwo, he confirmed the club tried to sign him and his brother.
"Once he wanted to sign me and my brother when we were with Milan, but we chose to stay," the 2002 World Cup winner stated. Ultimately, he would even reject United's noisy neighbours Man City, before moving to Real Madrid in 2009.
There was clearly a lot of respect between the two men, even if Kaka never took Ferguson's breath away. Kaka posted a picture with the Scot in 2024, with the caption: "Every conversation is a lesson, thank you mister Ferguson!"