’We are falling behind’: Kaka issues urgent call for Brazilian football overhaul after World Cup exit

In a stark and candid assessment that has sent ripples through the football world, 2002 World Cup winner and 2007 Ballon d’Or recipient Kaká has sounded the alarm on the state of Brazilian football. Speaking from the United States just days after the Seleção’s disappointing elimination from the 2026 World Cup, the former playmaker delivered an unflinching diagnosis: Brazil is no longer keeping pace with the global elite, and urgent structural reform is needed.

“We are living exactly in this moment of reflection,” Kaká began. “We have four years until the next World Cup, and I think we need to think a lot about restructuring a project for Brazilian football — about what we can do to improve it.”

For the 44-year-old legend, the warning signs have been accumulating for years. “These World Cup moments are giving these signs that we are falling behind,” he said bluntly. The remedy, in his view, is not cosmetic but foundational — a deep, long-term project led by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) in close collaboration with the country’s clubs. “We are going to think about a long-term project: what we are going to do, how we are going to run this process, how we are going to involve the youth categories, how we are going to do all this athlete development,” he outlined.

Central to Kaká’s vision is the restoration of Brazilian football’s identity. “Try to bring back that Brazilian football DNA — I think that is the process,” he emphasized. He stressed the need to recover the creativity, spontaneity, and improvisation that once defined the nation’s style, while integrating modern tactical discipline. “Our creativity, the player’s spontaneity to improvise, to create — we have to seek that, to make this mix,” he said, adding that “the tactical part is super important — I learned a lot about that in Italy.”

The 2002 champion called for a thorough diagnosis — not superficial debate, but a deep investigation involving formative clubs, the media, and all stakeholders. “For the World Cup to be the cherry on top of what the Brazilian national team is doing,” he said.

As models to emulate, Kaká pointed to Morocco, France, and Spain. He praised Morocco’s long-term planning, noting their U-20 World Cup title, a seamless pipeline to the senior team, and strong World Cup performances. He also highlighted Spain’s Olympic core now anchoring their senior squad.

“We need to do a deep diagnosis and think about a long-term project,” Kaká insisted. For a five-time world champion, the message is clear: without fundamental change, the gap will only widen.