Kaka: The Only Man Ever Dumped for Being… Too Good?**

Kaka: The Only Man Ever Dumped for Being… Too Good?

There are plenty of footballers whose careers were undone by fame, injuries and ego. Legendary Brazilian Kaká, however, was almost perfect. A career winding down in sunny Florida, where he played for Orlando City.

It was too clean-cut. Too perfect.

Streets will never forget ⚫️🔴#TBT #SerieA @KAKA pic.twitter.com/n5NAo9cC8E

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) February 16, 2023

And if you believe the viral quotes on social media, the same can be said for his marriage.

The story goes something like this.

In 2005, Kaká married his childhood sweetheart, Caroline Celico, at a Rebirth in Christ church in São Paulo. They had a 10-year relationship that ended amicably 10 years later.

But of course, the internet loves drama.

This is where the “too perfect” quote comes from.

There is no doubt you have seen it plastered over social media. Every few months on Instagram or X, a post does the rounds, stating that Celico left Kaká because he was “too perfect”.

This quote has even been featured on news websites such as The Sun and The Daily Mail.

In truth, it’s just another tale added to football’s ever-growing catalogue of myths.

On Celico’s Instagram story, she said: “For those who haven’t heard from me for a long time… or have never heard before, and are unfortunately hearing some fake news and fake quotes. Let me update you.

“I got divorced almost 10 years ago, from those 14 years of relationship, there are 2 lovely teenagers.

“I have a lot of respect for my lifetime story, and I am very grateful for everything I have lived so far. My ex-husband and I found a healthy way to raise our children, and I’m so grateful for this.”

This story is corroborated by CNN Brazil, among other news outlets.

But to add fuel to this fire, Kaka himself came out and told us why his marriage ended.

Last year, on a Spanish-speaking podcast, Spanish outlet Sport revealed that Kaká did not originally want to split due to his strong religious beliefs. “A Christian does not marry to get a divorce,” Kaka said.

Cody Gakpo 🤝 Kaka
”I BELONG TO JESUS” pic.twitter.com/4paclFLNZ2

— futebolleuropeu (@futeboleuropeeu) April 27, 2025

“In 2015 I was married, and my wife at the time decided she didn't want to be married anymore.”

“She said, ‘I'm not happy and I attribute my unhappiness to marriage.’ I was living in the United States, and she asked to go back to Brazil.

“Her words were, ‘I want to go back to Brazil, I want to live there and I don't want to be married anymore.’

Although it’s a heartbreaking story of a man who watched his marriage end while still in love, at no point here does he point to her saying that the reason was that he was “too perfect.”

Yet there is a deeper irony to this whole saga. Whilst Kaka’s relationship likely did not end because he was “too perfect” or “too good”, you can almost certainly describe his career in that way.

While injuries and dips in form blighted parts of his club career, ask any football fan born in the mid-1990s and they’ll recount Kaká’s beauty on the ball, how he dismantled a Manchester United side featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, or his emphatic 2007 Ballon d’Or-winning year.

The King of 2007, @KAKA 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gfkeSrqMij

— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 2, 2025

Many fans will tell you that he was the last pure number 10. The last of a dying age.

So was Kaka dumped for being too good? Most likely not.

But this probable myth tells us something about how we view the Brazilian great. He was a superstar who felt strangely unreal, a player—and a person—who had no controversies, no cracks, that we had to make some up in order to make sense of him.