Did you know? São Paulo and Al Hilal once fought over Rivellino | OneFootball

Three-time world champion in his only appearance with the tricolor shirt (Morumbiteca)

RAFAEL EMILIANO@rafaelemilianoo

The São Paulo fan anxiously followed the last day of the Brazilian football transfer window, waiting for Al Hilal's commotion to release Marcos Leonardo to strengthen the team for the rest of the season.

What few remember, however, is that it was not the first time that Tricolor clashed with the Saudi Arabian club over a player. And the first name on the list, in fact, is a well-known one: Roberto Rivellino, idol of rival Corinthians and three-time world champion.

In early 1981, a 35-year-old veteran Riva took advantage of his holidays in Brazil to frequent the social club of São Paulo because he lived in Brooklin, south zone of the São Paulo capital. The attacking midfielder was thinking of returning to play in his home country, was keeping fit and soon the news spread among the Tricolor directors.

Interested, Rivellino even agreed on salary bases with São Paulo and even announced his arrival date: May of that year, when his contract with Al Hilal (yes, the same one as Marcos Leonardo) would end.

The three-time world champion thought he was backed by the legal bases of Brazilian jurisdiction, which due to his advanced age could claim free pass (the younger ones certainly have no idea what we are talking about here) and thus play without major problems for Tricolor.

Big mistake. In the understanding of the Saudis, Rivellino had his pass tied to the club of the Asian country. And they quickly activated legal mechanisms, including Fifa, to prevent the attacking midfielder from playing professionally without financial compensation for his release.

The release of the pass to Rivellino could occur amicably, but the star was going through a conflictual period with the Saudis (just like Marcos Leonardo). He had fought with the coach, an Egyptian (just like Marcos Leonardo). And, even worse, he argued with the owner of Al Hilal, from the Saudi royal family (just like Marcos Leonardo now?) when he refused to sign the contract renewal.

For a long five months, the São Paulo board tried in vain to get Riva's pass released. But the issue was no longer even financial. Feeling offended, the Saudi prince announced loud and clear that the three-time world champion had promised to end his career and deceived him by agreeing with Tricolor. In other words, he would not release the player's documentation.

The definitive blow to get Rivellino's release happened on September 22, 1981. Thanks to a little help from Rubens Minelli, historic Tricolor commander, Brazilian champion in 1977 and who at the time was coaching the Saudi Arabia national team, an friendly match was scheduled with them at Morumbi. An attempt to sensitize the prince (just like Marcos Leonardo now).

In front of less than 3,000 paying spectators and with live TV for all of Brazil, Rivellino played with the São Paulo shirt and had a discreet participation in the 5-1 rout. The lack of rhythm and the lack of understanding weighed, but the talk after the match was that training alongside the squad daily and playing regularly, he could recover at least part of the shine that time preserved.

The celebration was useless (just like Marcos Leonardo now) and not even Minelli's appeal served to appease the prince's fury, who kept the three-time world champion's pass under his reins.

Unable to play professionally, Rivellino announced his retirement less than 20 days after the friendly, marking the bizarre incident, his only appearance with the São Paulo shirt and seeing, in a way, his story repeat itself 44 years later.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.