Boavista on the verge of signing reigning World Cup champion
Boavista’s approach for Portuguese legend Bruno Alves is not going to end in success - but the ambitious Portuguese club have now turned elsewhere, and are set to bring in a reigning World champion instead.
In another impressive move by the club, Boavista are in advanced negotiations to sign veteran French centreback Adil Rami, who was part of France’s victorious 2018 World Cup squad, on a free transfer.
In addition to being a world champion, Rami also played a significant role in France’s Euro 2016 campaign, playing all three of his country’s group stage games, as well as their Round of 16 match against Republic of Ireland. They went on to reach the final, before losing to Portugal.
The 34-year old, capped 36 times at senior level for France, has had an impressive career, having played for the likes of Valencia, AC Milan and Marseille, endured a frustrating 2019-20 season at both Fenerbahce and Sochi, where the Covid-19 pandemic prevented him from making an appearance for the latter.
Nevertheless, it is a major coup for Boavista, and Rami will become just the fourth World champion to play in the Portuguese league.
Who are the world champions to have played in Portugal?
The first World Cup winner to play in the Primeira Liga was Brazilian Anderson Polga, when the 2002 World champions joined Sporting CP a year later, where he played for 9 years. He did not, however, represent Brazil again after his arrival.
The second was Spanish left back Joan Capdevila, who was not only part of the Spain squad that won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but was also a crucial player for the team, playing every single match and minute during Spain’s victorious Worlc Cup campaign. The Spanish star joined SL Benfica in 2011, staying in Lisbon for one year. He also won the 2008 Euros.
And the other world champion to play in Portugal was Iker Casillas. The Spain legend also won the 2010 World Cup, and went on to join FC Porto in 2015, where he played and continued to impress for the next five years of his career before he retired from professional football.
