Rivaldo had a great relationship in attack for Brazil with Ronaldo Nazario, who he wanted to play alongside at club level.
“If I had been up top with Ronaldo at Real Madrid, we would have been a fearsome duo,” Rivaldo told Betfair.
“We already showed it when we played with Brazil. To have more time to develop that chemistry we had at club level would have made us even more lethal.
“Defences would have feared us, no matter which team we played for. That summer [of 2002] Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid after Los Blancos took an interest in me, so if we had managed to join together, it would have been incredible.”
Rivaldo admits that if he had crossed the divide though, he would have received criticism similar to what Luis Figo experienced two years prior.
“I would never have turned down Real Madrid just because I played for Barcelona, even though I have a great relationship with Barcelona and they will always be my club in Europe,” Rivaldo said.
“I know perfectly well that if I had signed for Real Madrid, it would have been a similar case to that of Figo, but in the end it didn’t happen.”
