Rivaldo(2)

Milan

Rivaldo signed a three-year deal with the Italian Serie A club Milan in 2002. With Milan, he won the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in the 2002–03 season. In August 2003, he also won the UEFA Super Cup before cancelling his contract with Milan in November that year. After leaving Milan, he briefly returned to Brazil, playing for Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte.[17] He came close to signing for Bolton Wanderers in 2004, though Bolton eventually pulled out of the deal.[31][32][33] Due to his poor performances throughout the season, he won the Bidone d'Oro Award in 2003, which is given to the worst Serie A player during a particular season

Cruzeiro

Rivaldo decided to return to Brazil in early 2004, by appointment of coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo who convinced him to play for the club, becoming Cruzeiro's major signing for the Copa Libertadores.[35] However, his time with the team was very short, only eleven games and two goals. As reported by CNN, Rivaldo left the club after just two months due to the firing of Luxemburgo, Rivaldo's mentor earlier in his career.[36] Rivaldo stated, "When he left, I preferred to leave as well. It was my decision because I consider Luxemburgo to be a special person."[36]

Olympiacos

On 22 July 2004, Rivaldo joined Olympiacos of Superleague Greece.[17] During the 2004–05 season he scored some stand out goals, one of them coming in his first derby against Panathinaikos that arguably turned out to be his most famous in an Olympiacos shirt: a bending free kick to send Olympiacos to victory over their eternal rivals. Another notable goal by Rivaldo came the following week in Olympiacos's matchday 6 UEFA Champions League group game in England against eventual champions Liverpool F.C. where he scored a deft free-kick in front of the Kop and put the Greek giants ahead.[37] However Olympiacos were eliminated after Liverpool talisman Steven Gerrard scored with a 25-yard half volley 3 minutes from full-time.[37] In the last game of Rivaldo's first season at Olympiacos, the club needed a victory in order to win the Alpha Ethniki championship, with Panathinaikos just one point behind. Olympiacos went on to beat Iraklis 0–1 in an away match in Thessaloniki, thanks to Rivaldo's goal, and secured the championship.

Rivaldo renewed his contract with Olympiacos for a third year, despite now being 34 years old. In July 2006, Rivaldo announced that the 2006–07 season with Olympiacos would be his last in Europe, before returning to Brazil.[38] However, he quickly changed his decision and decided to stay for another year. The 2006–2007 season saw him score 17 goals in 27 Superleague matches. Rivaldo scored 43 goals in 81 games for Olympiacos.

AEK Athens

Rivaldo was released by Olympiacos after a dispute with the chairman of the club, Sokratis Kokkalis, who decided that he was too old to continue with the club. Later that summer, he signed for Super League club AEK Athens on 29 May 2007.[17] His first Super League goal with the Athens' club came through a penalty in their 3–0 win against Panionios. Rivaldo had another great season and the team. After the winning match against Olympiacos with 4–0, Rivaldo showed his four fingers to the camera.

Rivaldo had stated his intention to leave Greece if the ruling went in favour of Olympiakos and AEK Athens were not declared champions. He stated: "A team that was not good enough to win the title on the pitch does not deserve the trophy."[39]

Bunyodkor

Rivaldo announced on 25 August 2008 to a Greek Sport Radio Station that he agreed to continue his career at Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan, effective immediately, after what he described as an "extremely tempting contract offer".[40]

Rivaldo signed a two-year contract worth €10.2 million and later signed an extension to extend the contract to 2011.[41] On his debut for Bunyodkor, Rivaldo scored both goals in a 2–0 win.[42] In 2009, Rivaldo became the first player in the world to score one, then two, then three, then four goals in four consecutive matches. He scored one goal in the first match and two goals in the second match against Navbahor. In the third match on 25 June 2009, Rivaldo scored a hat trick in a 4–0 win against Metallurg.[43] In the fourth match Bunyodkor beat Sogdiana Jizzakh 5–0 and Rivaldo scored four in 17 minutes. After the end of the 2009 season, Rivaldo won UFF Topscorer award, having scored 20 league goals, and was runner up for UFF Player of the Year award. He scored 33 goals for the club in total. Rivaldo announced on 11 August 2010 on Twitter that he had cancelled his contract with Bunyodkor

Retirement

In March 2014, the Brazilian icon officially retired from football after a career which spanned more than 20 years, and he decided to remain as the president of Mogi Mirim to help run the club and to look after his son, Rivaldinho.[51] In a released statement, Rivaldo commented: "My history as a player has come to the end. With tears in my eyes today I would like to thank God, my family and all the support, the affection that I received during those 24 years as a player."[51] However, he returned to the team in June 2015. On 14 July 2015, Rivaldo and Rivaldinho scored goals in the same match for the first time as Mogi Mirim beat Macaé 3–1.[52]

On 18 January 2019, SCC Mohammédia announced Rivaldo as their new technical director and coach for the following season.[53] The player denied that a deal was made, as he signed a pre-contract in which the club must achieve promotion from National (third tier in the Moroccan league)