Retro Rivaldo Shirt – Samba Genius in Blaugrana and Yellow

Rivaldo's senior career took flight at Mogi Mirim and Corinthians before a transformative spell at Palmeiras, where he won back-to-back Brazilian league titles in 1993 and 1994 and announced himself as Brazil's next great number 10. A move to Deportivo La Coruña in 1996 saw him conquer La Liga's tactical demands, scoring 21 league goals in a single season and convincing Barcelona to sign him in 1997. At Camp Nou he became immortal. Two consecutive La Liga titles in 1997-98 and 1998-99, a Copa del Rey, and a string of jaw-dropping individual performances culminated in his 1999 Ballon d'Or. His most famous Barça moment came in June 2001 against Valencia – a hat-trick capped by a stoppage-time bicycle kick that secured Champions League qualification, often voted the greatest goal in the club's history. International glory peaked at the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, where Rivaldo scored in every group game and partnered Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in the legendary "Three R's" attack that lifted the trophy. After Barcelona he joined AC Milan in 2002, winning the Champions League in 2003 against Juventus at Old Trafford, although his Rossoneri spell was cut short by a clash with coach Carlo Ancelotti. Later chapters at Cruzeiro, Olympiacos – where he won three Greek titles – AEK Athens, Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan, São Paulo and a remarkable comeback at Mogi Mirim alongside his son Rivaldinho rounded off one of football's most globe-trotting careers.

Rivaldo's brilliance was sharpened by the giants around him. At Barcelona he initially shared a dressing room with Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert, Pep Guardiola and the iconoclastic Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, whose tactical demands occasionally clashed with Rivaldo's free-spirited instincts – the pair famously fell out over Van Gaal insisting he play on the left. At Milan he linked with Andriy Shevchenko, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo and Kaká under Carlo Ancelotti, lifting the 2003 Champions League. With Brazil he formed perhaps the most feared attacking trio in World Cup history alongside Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, guided by manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. Rivals defined him too: Real Madrid's galácticos, Raúl and Roberto Carlos, made every Clásico a war, while Zinedine Zidane's France and Oliver Kahn's Germany were the foes he ultimately overcame on the international stage. His controversial moment of theatrics against Turkey's Hakan Ünsal in 2002 still divides opinion, but it cannot dilute the brilliance of a player whose talent transcended every team he graced.

The most coveted retro Rivaldo shirt is unquestionably the Barcelona Nike home jersey of 1998-99 or 1999-2000, the deep blaugrana stripes carrying the iconic number 10 or 11 from his Ballon d'Or-winning season. Collectors equally prize the 2000-01 Barça shirt worn during that mythical Valencia bicycle kick – often regarded as the holy grail of Rivaldo memorabilia. His Brazil shirts are pure gold, particularly the 2002 Nike home jersey in canary yellow with green trim, the kit in which he scored in every group game on Brazil's road to a fifth World Cup. The 1998 Brazil shirt from the France '98 final defeat is also highly sought-after, representing the heartbreak before the redemption. AC Milan's classic red-and-black stripes from the 2002-03 Champions League season carry serious cachet, as do his Deportivo La Coruña shirts from 1996-97 when he first stunned La Liga. Look out too for Olympiacos shirts from his treble-winning Greek years – an underrated chapter for serious collectors.