Montolivo welcomes Kaka at Milan

Posted Tuesday, July 31, 2012 by ESPN

AC Milan midfielder Riccardo Montolivo has revealed he would welcome Kaka if the out-of-favour Real Madrid man decides to return to the San Siro this summer.

Kaka spent six glorious years at Milan from 2003 to 2009 and helped the club to the Serie A title in the 2003/04 season, as well as a UEFA Champions League triumph in 2007.

He then moved to Real for a fee of €68.5million but his time at the Santiago Bernabeu has been hampered by injury problems, especially during his second season when he made just 20 appearances for Los Blancos in all competition.

While he figured more prominently last term, he struggled to force his way into Jose Mourinho's starting XI due to the fine form of Mesut Ozil, who has established himself as Real's playmaker-in-chief.

His lack of game time has seen Kaka regularly linked with a return to Milan this summer and Montolivo, who only just joined the club from Fiorentina, insists he would welcome the Brazil international with open arms, even if it would mean more competition for a starting berth.

"Anybody would want to have Kaka in their team," the 27-year-old told Milan Channel. "He's an exceptional player and I think he would be welcomed back."

Milan will meet newly-promoted Sampdoria in their opening game of the season after the fixtures were released on Monday, and Montolivo has stressed how important it is for his side to begin the campaign on a high.

"The new season kicks off with Sampdoria at home," he added. "Samp will definitely come into the game full of enthusiasm after winning promotion to Serie A, but we don't want to set off on the wrong foot.

"Our aim is to string together a positive run from the beginning.

"I think that champions Juventus start off as favourites, but Milan are up there with them, as are Inter [Milan], who'll be a title challenger too."

Montolivo joined Milan on a free transfer at the end of June after seven seasons with Viola, where he made 252 appearances in all competition.