You have to go all the way back nearly ten years to find the last winner of the Ballon d'Or that isn't Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

Yes that's right, Kaka was crowned the best player on the planet in 2007 after a stellar year for AC Milan.

Since then, Ronaldo and Messi have dominated proceedings while Kaka, now 35, is seeing out the final period of his career in the MLS with Orlando.

The former Real Madrid and Milan midfielder still casts a close eye on what is going on in Europe's big leagues, though.

With Messi (29) and Ronaldo (32) supposedly reaching the final stage of their careers, their dominance of the Ballon d'Or will have to end eventually.

And Kaka has revealed which young player he is most impressed by right now.

In an interview with Goal, the 35-year-old admitted that he currently has a soft spot for fellow Brazilian Neymar.

"I would say Neymar is my favourite young player," Kaka said.

"I love the way that he plays.

"He makes everything so easy and he’s enjoying playing with Barcelona."

Kaka himself hasn't entirely given up on making a return to international football.

He last featured for the Selecao before last year's Copa America and despite Brazil becoming the first team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the Orlando star insists he is more than willing to represent his country if called upon again.

Kaka added: "Brazil are doing very good. Now [head coach] Tite has put the national team on the right track.

"They’re playing very good. They’ve qualified for the next World Cup and Brazil will probably be one of the favorites for the next World Cup.

"About my time with the national team, really I don’t know.

"I just think about [Orlando City] and if I think I’m playing good here, consistently every game doing good, maybe. If the national team coach thinks I can help in some way the national team, I’ll be ready to play for Brazil.

"It’s not a thing I think about every day. I’m focused here, but if I have a chance in the future to be back I’ll be glad to be back to the national team."

Kaka has missed out on the latest Brazil squad, however, with Tite's side set to face Argentina and Australia in Melbourne next month.

Neymar has been rested, while Gabriel Jesus, David Luiz and Willian are all included.