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

Three-time world champion in his only appearance wearing 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 to be moved to release Marcos Leonardo to strengthen the team for the rest of the season.

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

At the beginning of 1981, a veteran Riva, 35 years old, took advantage of his vacation in Brazil to frequent the social club facilities of São Paulo, as he lived in Brooklin, in the southern part of São Paulo city. The attacking midfielder was thinking about playing again in his home country, was keeping fit, and soon the news spread among the Tricolor directors.

Interested, Rivellino even agreed on salary terms 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 grounds of Brazilian jurisdiction, which, due to his advanced age, could claim a free transfer (younger people surely have no idea what we’re talking about here) and thus play for the Tricolor without major issues.

Big mistake. In the Saudis’ view, Rivellino’s transfer rights were still tied to the club from the Asian country. They quickly moved to activate legal mechanisms, including FIFA, to prevent the attacking midfielder from playing professionally without financial compensation for his release.

The transfer of Rivellino’s rights could have happened amicably, but the star was going through a turbulent 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 a contract renewal.

For a long five months, São Paulo’s board tried in vain to obtain Riva’s release. But by then, the issue was no longer even financial. Feeling offended, the Saudi prince loudly announced that the three-time world champion had promised to retire and had deceived him by signing with the Tricolor. In other words, he would not release the player’s documentation.

The decisive move to secure Rivellino’s release happened on September 22, 1981. Thanks to a helping hand from Rubens Minelli, historic Tricolor coach, Brazilian champion in 1977 and at the time coaching the Saudi Arabian national team, a friendly match was arranged between the club and the Saudis at Morumbi. An attempt to sway the prince (just like Marcos Leonardo now).

In front of less than 3,000 paying fans and with live TV for all of Brazil, Rivellino played wearing the São Paulo shirt and had a discreet participation in the 5-1 rout. The lack of match fitness and chemistry took their toll, but after the match, the talk was that if he trained daily with the squad and played regularly, he could recover at least part of the brilliance that time had preserved.

The celebration was useless (just like Marcos Leonardo now) and not even Minelli’s appeal was enough to appease the prince’s fury, who kept the three-time world champion’s transfer rights under his control.

With no way to play professionally, Rivellino announced his retirement less than 20 days after the friendly, marking the unusual story, his only appearance in 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.