Barcelona part with World Cup winner Rivaldo

Barcelona agreed to rescind the contract of their World Cup winning forward Rivaldo on Sunday, leaving the Brazilian free to leave the Catalan club as soon as he can find new employers.

The move, agreed by the two parties on Sunday and announced on Barcelona's official website, brings an end to a five-year spell at Barcelona that saw Rivaldo, now 30, mature into one of the world's best players.

"Both parties believe that this decision comes in their best interests," said the statement, which offered no details on the decision to rescind a contract that had one more year left to run.

"They wish to express the satisfactory nature of their relationship up to now and the good spirit in which the talks took place."

Speculation has been growing in Spain that Barcelona's arch-rivals Real Madrid could step in to sign Rivaldo, a move that would see him reunited with Luis Figo, the Portuguese forward poached by Real two years ago.

Real said in a statement of their own on Sunday they would not make a bid to sign Rivaldo from Barcelona but now he is a free agent the club could in theory move in.

It remains to be seen, though, whether Rivaldo has agreed to any clause in his contract with Barcelona barring him from a move to another Spanish club.

Whatever the situation, Rivaldo is unlikely to be without suitors in Italy, where Lazio recently expressed an interest, and England.

DIP IN FORM

Rivaldo joined Barcelona from Deportivo Coruna in 1997 and helped the club to the Spanish league title in each of his first two seasons, scoring 19 goals in his first year and 24 in the second.

His form dipped last year as he struggled to overcome a knee injury but the former World Player of the Year went on to score five goals in the World Cup to help Brazil to the title.

For his first four years at Barcelona he was without doubt the club's most dangerous player.

Even though his fiercely individualistic streak could sometimes be frustrating he regularly delighted fans with an ability to decide games with a deft touch from a magical left foot.

"Football Club Barcelona would like to expressly note their recognition of the contribution made by Rivaldo and his professionalism throughout his time at the club," Barcelona added in Sunday's statement.

Barcelona's decision to let one of the world's most desirable soccer assets leave for nothing seems to defy logic but the Catalan club will feel the solution agreed to on Sunday solves several problems.

Rivaldo would have been able to leave for nothing in any case when his contract was up in June 2003 and the decision will save them estimated salary costs of around $7.5 million.

TACTICAL PROTEST

The move will also ensure there is no repeat of the one-man protest over tactics that caused the club so much embarrassment during Louis van Gaal's first spell in charge.

That was in December 1999, when Rivaldo had just won the prestigious European football of the year award.

The Brazilian was unhappy at being played on the left side of midfield and he informed van Gaal he would not play again until he was given a more central role.

Van Gaal promptly dropped him for two Spanish league games before the Brazilian relented.

When van Gaal's return was announced, Rivaldo reacted by saying he would be prepared to play anywhere, including in goal, for the final year of his contract.

The Dutch coach clearly decided he could manage without the Brazilian's unique talents, however.

In Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme the club have a ready-made replacement, while Gaizka Mendieta, snapped up on a loan deal from Lazio over the weekend, will provide further firepower.

Letting Rivaldo leave also solves a problem over the number of non-European Union players in their squad.

Clubs in Spain are allowed to register four "foreigners" and with Rivaldo, Barcelona had five.

ANXIOUS WAIT

Barcelona fans will now wait anxiously to see where Rivaldo ends up.

Real Madrid's sporting director Jorge Valdano was widely quoted in the Spanish media as saying Real could become interested in the player if he were a free agent but the club dampened those reports on Sunday.

"The club would like to make it clear that Valdano has never proposed the incorporation of Rivaldo, within the club or in public, whatever his contractual situation," Real said.

The statement added: "The club will not interfere with events at Barcelona. In part, that is in order to maintain the good relations between the two clubs. Real Madrid fully respect that Rivaldo is a Barcelona player."

Now he is a free agent, Real have every right to bid for his services and club president Florentino Perez would love to sign one of the few players in the world of the calibre of Figo and Zinedine Zidane, the major signings of his first two years.

If Figo's move to Real Madrid was tough to take, seeing Rivaldo in the white strip of the club from the capital would be almost too much for Barca fans to bear.