[33] Within a month, he cracked the starting lineup, replacing Rui Costa in the attacking midfield playmaking position, behind strikers Jon Dahl Tomasson, Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko.

[34] Milan also reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, losing out to eventual winners Lazio, and were knocked out of the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Deportivo La Coruña.

Kaká played a pivotal role in Milan's Champions League campaign that season, helping them to reach the final against Liverpool, scoring two goals and providing five assists.

Dubbed the "Miracle of Istanbul", Milan led 3–0 at half time, before Liverpool staged a comeback, scoring three goals in six minutes, and eventually won the match 3–2 on penalties.

[36] A match widely regarded as one of the greatest finals in the competition's history, Kaká was imperious in the first half; he first won the early free-kick which led to Paolo Maldini's opening goal, began the play that led to Hernán Crespo's first goal and Milan's second of the night, then executed a long curling pass that split open the Liverpool defence and rolled directly into the path of Crespo to score Milan's third.

[36][37][38] Kaká was once again nominated for the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year Awards, finishing ninth and eighth respectively, and he was named the 2005 UEFA Club Football Best Midfielder.

[54][55] On 2 December 2007, Kaká became the eighth Milan player to win the Ballon d'Or, as he finished with a decisive 444 votes, well ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

"[69] On 19 January, Silvio Berlusconi announced that Manchester City had officially ended their bid after a discussion between the clubs, and that Kaká would remain with Milan.

"[76] On 4 June, Galliani told Gazzetta dello Sport that financial reasons were his motive for the talks with La Volpe: "We cannot allow [Milan] to lose €70 million ...

[84] On 5 August 2010, Real Madrid announced that Kaká had undergone a successful surgery on a long-standing left knee injury and would face up to four months on the sidelines.

At the end of his second season with the club, Real Madrid and Kaká had won the Copa del Rey, although they finished as runners-up in both La Liga and in the Supercopa de España to rivals Barcelona.

[84] On 27 September 2011, Kaká experienced one of his best matches as a Real Madrid player during a 3–0 victory over Ajax in the Champions League, as he scored one goal, provided one assist and participated in one of the best team build-ups of the matchday: a counterattacking move involving Mesut Özil, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

[92] In 2011–12, Real Madrid won La Liga with a record 100 points that year, with Kaká providing nine assists and scoring five goals in the competition.

On 29 August 2013, Kaká expressed his desire to leave Real Madrid,[97] having scored 29 goals and provided 32 assists in 120 appearances in all competitions over four seasons at the club.

[106] Kaká tore his left adductor muscle during his first competitive appearance, deciding not to accept any wages from Milan whilst he regained fitness.

His first goal, described by ESPN as "a sensational curling shot from the edge of the area into the top right-hand corner," opened the scoring in a 1–1 home draw at San Siro to Lazio on 30 October.

[113][114] On 30 June 2014, Kaká had his Milan contract terminated through mutual consent despite having a year remaining, by activating a release clause as a result of the team not qualifying for European competitions.

[140] On 5 July, he received the first straight red card of his career in a 1–1 away draw against Real Salt Lake; he had previously scored a goal during the match.

[158] Orlando City were officially eliminated from playoff contention on 7 October, following New York Red Bulls's 3–0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

[160] He played his last official match for Orlando on 15 October in a 1–0 home defeat against Columbus Crew;[161][162] he finished the 2017 MLS season with 6 goals and 5 assists in 23 league appearances.

[168] Kaká was unable to keep up the momentum for the remainder of the tournament, as Brazil was eliminated by France in the quarter-finals with French star Thierry Henry scoring the winner.

[172] On 12 May 2007, citing an exhaustive schedule of Serie A, Champions League and national team play, Kaká bowed out of the 2007 Copa América, which Brazil won.

He received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament at the Confederations Cup and was also named the Man of the Match in the final after helping Brazil to a 3–2 win against the United States.

[181] After more than a year absence from the national team due to a series of injuries, Kaká was recalled on 27 October 2011 for the friendly matches against Gabon and Egypt in November.

[199] Following Douglas Costa's left thigh injury in late May 2016, which ruled him out of Brazil's Copa América Centenario squad, Kaká was called up as a replacement by Dunga.

"[203][204][205] In his prime at Milan and prior to the injuries he suffered at Real Madrid, Kaká was an intelligent, quick, and hardworking player that could dribble past defenders in one-on-one situations as well as during counterattacks.

[206][207][208][209][210] Regarding his speed and elegance on the ball during his trademark forward runs, in 2017, Karl Matchett of Bleacher Report stated: His gait, particularly when in possession, was mesmeric.

"[170] Carl Anka of the BBC writes that his "knee and groin problems sapped him of the explosive half-yard burst he needed to navigate the corridors of midfield uncertainty", and that by 2009, he "was already on the wane.

[17] In March 2015, Kaká had the fifth-highest social media following among athletes, with 33 million Facebook fans, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, David Beckham, and Neymar.

While receiving the FIFA World Footballer of the Year award in 2007, he said that initially, he just wanted to be a professional player for São Paulo and play one game for the Brazil national team, but that "God gave [him] more than he ever asked for.