‘To tell you the truth, Kaka did not want to leave’: Agent says Milan were forced to sell Brazilian to Madrid against his will

Kaka's agent Gaetano Paolillo has revealed that the Brazilian was never keen on joining Real Madrid and wanted to stay at AC Milan.

"To tell you the truth, Kaka did not want to leave AC Milan," he told MilanNews.it. "He was doing fine in Milan, [both] he and his family. However, the club put him up for sale and at that time Real Madrid were an excellent solution.

"[Milan's then-CEO Adriano] Galliani did not want sell him, but it did not depend on him. Of course, Real Madrid are always Real Madrid, we are not talking about any team, but what he won in Spain was not more than what AC Milan gave him."

Nevertheless, the Rossoneri were forced to sell their prized asset due to their financial struggles, according to Paolillo.

"Every year, Real Madrid asked if there was a chance to sign Kaka and, once, [Franco] Baldini and [Predrag] Mijatovic came to my house to talk and they met Kaka's father there," he added.

"Kaka was not available for transfer and he always said the same thing: that he did not want to leave AC Milan. I remember that after the last game with AC Milan in 2009, he went to play for Brazil and took just a backpack with him.

"I accompanied him to the Malpensa [Airport] and I remember him saying, 'See you here when I return.' Instead, AC Milan were forced to sell him to Real Madrid."

Kaka moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in a €67m switch in 2009 and went on to score 29 and set up 39 goals in 120 appearances for the Whites before returning to Milan on a free transfer in 2013.

The Brazilian won the La Liga and the Spanish Cup during his four-year stay at Madrid but he was a mare shadow of his former self in the Spanish capital.

Kaka's best bits with Madrid: