Former Brazil star Kaka claims that Jose Mourinho is partly responsible for his disappointing spell at Real Madrid.
The Ballon d'Or winner joined Madrid from AC Milan in 2009, becoming the second most expensive player ever, but saw injury problems blight his stay at the Santiago Bernabeu. When he regained fitness, Mourinho had taken over as head coach and often left Kaka out of the starting XI.
Kaka believes a combination of the two factors ruined his chance of becoming a star for Real, with Mourinho preferring Mesut Ozil to him in attacking midfield.
"The problem in Madrid was continuity," Kaka told SporTV. "First, it was because of the injuries. The first year I had a hip problem. I pushed to reach the World Cup and then I had an adductor injury.
"After the Cup I have a knee operation and I'm out for six months. And when I return I have Mourinho. My problem in Madrid was continuity.
"First for the physical issue and then for the choice of the coach. I spent three years trying to convince Mourinho that he could give me opportunities. But it was his choice, it was beyond my reach."
Despite the disagreements between the two during their time in Madrid, Kaka says that he has forgiven Mourinho and understands why he left him out of the lineup.
"There is no problem between us," he continued. "I was in Manchester for a sponsorship gig and I stayed at the hotel where Mourinho lived and we talked for two hours.
"At some point we had a misunderstanding because I believed that I had to play and he believed that I did not. But they were respectful disagreements.
"I never rebelled and told him 'I'm leaving here', nor did I go before the press to complain. I told him: 'It's your choice, but I think you could have other options because I think I should have a chance to play. Now, you must choose.'
"He had no arguments. He told me he was not going to play because the position was for Ozil. I thought I could contribute.
"Mourinho is really what you see in the cameras. He has his explosive moments, but he's a very smart guy. What people see at press conferences is all prepared and planned and knows exactly what they are going to say. The problem I had with him was because of his choices. I thought he was wrong. But the team worked. We won a ;eague and we reached the Champions League semi-finals."