He won't be the favourite player in football – just ask Van Gaal or anyone in Turkey – but Rivaldo was at one point the best player in the world. From the greatest hat-trick of all time to the World Cup honor, from the peak of his career in 2002 to the long farewell, "442" pays tribute to the former superstar with a long feature. Here's a look at Rivaldo's long career without highlights after leaving Barca.
Again, choose one of the two?
A month after the 2002 World Cup, Rivaldo left Barcelona. Injuries left him with just eight goals in 2001/02, with Barca again fourth in La Liga. This time it was Valencia who won the league, the defeated man a year ago. Barcelona's response was to bring in Van Gaal again, this time choosing him over Rivaldo, so much so that they let the Brazilian go and brought in Riquelme.
Bobby Robson, who had hoped to draw Rivaldo to Newcastle, spoke with team boss Freddie Shepard shortly before the World Cup began. The striker later revealed the interest of Manchester United and Liverpool in him, and Tottenham's hopes were dashed – they received a polite letter explaining why Rivaldo chose to join Milan.
The move to Italy was unsuccessful: separating from his wife made him uneasy, and he struggled to maintain a fixed position in the team. He won his only Champions League title at Milan, but in the following rounds Ancelotti chose Rui Costa to support Shevchenko and Inzaghi. He watched the final against Juventus at Old Trafford as a substitute and his contract was cancelled a few months later.
Subsequently, Rivaldo was even close to moving to Celtic and Bolton — rivalries negotiated with Allardyce before finally choosing Olympiacos. His last cheer in Europe was at Anfield, the season in which Liverpool finally won the title in the Champions League in 04/05, when he scored a free kick that nearly advanced the Greeks.
At the age of 36, he accepted a "tempting invitation" from Benyudko in Uzbekistan: a club that spent a fortune on a vanity fair project for the daughter of a socialite of dictator Islam Karimov. Zico and Scolari used to be head coaches there.
Rivaldo became the first player in the world to score 1, 2, 3 and 4 goals in a row, although only 5,416 watched him score four goals against the under-strengthed Sogdinaj Zak. Later, Benyudko simply did not pay him, and he left.
In 2012, the 39-year-old joined Kabuscorp in Angola, Africa, after having been invited by League One club Charlton, but Rivaldo politely declined. He stayed in Angola for about a year, but they also stopped paying him. In 2019, Kabuscorp was demoted for defaulting on a debt to Rivaldo's salary.
In 2015, at the age of 43, Rivaldo finally ended his career and returned to Brazil's Moji Mirin club. There, he scored in the same match as his son Rivardinho, who has since played in Portugal, Bulgaria and Romania.
After winning the World Cup honours, Rivaldo's farewell lasted a full 13 years. Between 1997 and 2002, he did his best: for a time, he was the best player on the planet, able to create magic that no other player could.
On that incredible night at Camp Nou in June 2001, Valencia found herself a victim of magic. At the peak of Rivaldo's career, they were not the only victims. (Supine Braces: Zhou Shuren Shu Zhou)