Rome, July 13:

Brazilian superstar Kaka believes Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo will succeed him as the world’s best player.

The AC Milan midfielder cleaned up in 2007, winning both the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the European Golden Ball, following a year in which he guided the San Siro side to the Champions League, scoring 10 goals on the way to victory. Now he feels the Portuguese winger’s exploits in helping the United to succeed as European champions warrants him lifting the various trophies.

“I believe that the number one candidate is still Cristiano Ronaldo, above all for what he did and won in the Champions League with Manchester United,” Kaka told La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Sportweek magazine.

However, he isn’t entirely ruling himself out of the race. “For me there’s still half a season, so we’ll see,” he said. The 2007-2008 campaign was a disappointing season for Milan. Having set the FIFA Club World Cup as their target, they were unable to refocus on the remainder of the season once they won it in December.