Attacking midfielder who was born Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, he won both the the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007 as a member of AC Milan; played for Real Madrid from 2009 to 2013 and began his long career with the Brazilian national team in 2002. He played tennis and club soccer when he was eight years old, and signed his first professional contract when he was 15 with Sao Paulo.
