He was one of 22 all-star legendary football players who kicked off the summit’s events on Tuesday (September 16) with a Legends Charity (Football) Game held in the city’s Alvalade stadium the evening before with the aim of raising €1 million for charities.

Midfield Ricardo Kaká still stands today as only one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or in a career spanning 15 years.

Kaká started professional football at 18 in 2001, playing for São Paulo, later joined AC Milan in 2003, and then on to Real Madrid in 2009 for a transfer fee of €67 million.

Returning to AC Milan for one season in 2013, the footballer, plagued by injuries, rounded off his professional career playing for Orlando City SC, finally hanging up his football boots in 2017.

Since November 2004, Kaká has served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations' World Food Programme, and he was the youngest to do so that year.

“The charity game was really nice, I love football, so every time I can be on the field playing and having fun entertaining people, it’s fun for me, so last night (Monday, September 16), it was great meeting a lot of ex-team mates, many of them friends that football gave to me”, he said.

Kaká emphasised that the charitable cause was the most important aspect of the game as it provided a “higher purpose”, and seeing the people really enjoying the game was “really incredible”.

The SBC event and the charity game were widely trumpeted for bringing together 22 of the biggest and brightest stars from the generation of players spanning the first decade of the 21st century - legends like Alessandro Del Piero, Gaizka Mendieta, Pepe, Marek Hamsik, Roberto Carlos, Luís Figo and Giorgos Karagounis.

“It was great to play together with players I used to play against in opposing teams, but we were all united for a good cause, so when I saw the lineup, I was really excited to be on the field with these guys.”

But how hard is it to pursue a life after football and keep fit and motivated? Kaká admitted that it’s really hard for football players to retire because “we are old for this sport yet still young with a life ahead of us, and so it’s a strange situation to handle.

“Some players know what they want to do; perhaps a coach or sports director, but most don’t always know. It’s difficult to face an uncertain future when you woke up every day knowing that your life was organized and you went to training, and now you have a new life with an entire world outside of football to discover”, he explained.

As for Kaká, he decided to study different subjects related to do with football management, including UEFA, FIFA and Harvard programmes and now invests in football technology and has a sports marketing company.