‘Kaka was untouchable’… Former Premier League star explains what makes the icon so special

EXCLUSIVE: Kaka was a genuine footballing genius, according to a retired striker who shared the pitch with the legend.

This former England international, who enjoyed a stint in Serie A, was mesmerized by what he saw from the Brazilian.

Jay Bothroyd opens up about how good Kaka really is

During his time at Perugia, Jay Bothroyd went head-to-head with an array of all-time greats. However, none impressed him quite as much as Kaka.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, the ex-striker explained: “When Kaka was at AC Milan, these were peak years. I had a conversation with a friend recently, and it got me thinking that every top player, aside from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, has four or five years of peak performance where they are untouchable. I got to see Kaka at that point. He wasn’t like a typical Brazilian, because even though he had the technique, and the shooting ability, he was a bit more direct, where you didn’t really see him do tricks and step-overs. It was first touch, bang, knock it into the space, then when he started running, he was really fast. For me to see him up close and mix it with a Brazilian great, it was amazing. His was the one shirt I didn’t get, but I did get Andrea Pirlo, Andriy Shevchenko and Paolo Maldini. So, I did collect a lot of shirts while I was in Italy.”