Kaka Reveals ‘Difficult Relationship’ With Jose Mourinho

Former Brazil international Kaka has admitted that he had a difficult relationship with Jose Mourinho during his unsuccessful playing career with Real Madrid. The attacker made a big-money switch to Los Blancos from AC Milan in the summer of 2009 but his career slumped thereafter with injuries hampering his progress.

Speaking in an interview with UOL Esporte, the now-retired footballer admitted that he had a strained relationship with then-manager Mourinho, who was difficult to please, he said: “In 2009 I accepted the proposal of Real Madrid, but I was completely destroyed there because I could not give what I had given Milan, I was completely lost. Jose Mourinho was a difficult coach for me and we had a respectful but complicated relationship. When I thought he would give me a chance, I couldn’t prove to him that I was in good shape. I trained, I fought and I prayed a lot, but having not received the confidence of the coach, I realised that I could not work with him.”

Kaka is certainly not the first player to speak about his strained relationship with Mourinho, who often demands the best of his squad. Nevertheless, this method has proved as a genuine route to success for the Portuguese tactician and he is currently employed at Manchester United, who have made significant progress under his management.

The Red Devils celebrated a League Cup and Europa League double during Mourinho’s first season at Old Trafford and the club are now vying for the second position in the standings, which would be their best result since the Sir Alex Ferguson era. Meanwhile, they also have silverware to fight for in terms of the FA Cup, where they will be facing Chelsea at the Wembley Stadium on May 19. A victory in the competition would see United clinch a joint-record 13th FA Cup title alongside Arsenal.