Football's biggest bust-ups: How the Ballon d'Or led to Louis van Gaal and Rivaldo's war of words at Barcelona

Van Gaal and Rivaldo first met when they turned up at Barcelona around the same time – in the summer of 1997.

The coach had a moderate career as a player, but he instantly flourished on the touchline, guiding Ajax to three league titles, two Champions League finals (one of which they won), the UEFA Cup, Super Cup and Intertoto Cup – an awesome haul for a fresh manager playing with such a young squad. Looking for the next Johan Cruyff, it was no surprise then when Barcelona turned to another successful and unique Ajax icon to lead them to domestic and European success by hiring him in 1997.

Rivaldo, meanwhile, had a longer and more arduous journey to Camp Nou. Raised in the favelas of Recife, he was a malnourished child who managed to make a name for himself thanks to football. Rivaldo went professional at 18 and jumped from club to club until he became a star at a successful Palmeiras team.

The Brazilian moved to Europe with Deportivo La Coruna, where his magnificent goal rate immediately caught the attention of bigger teams. Deportivo finished an incredible third place in La Liga in his first season, and it turned out to be his only one as Barca came calling in 1997 and he could not refuse a move.

Van Gaal and Rivaldo were an immediate hit with the Catalan giants. The Dutch coach thrust the Brazilian forward into the starting XI, playing on the left wing , opposite Portuguese icon Luis Figo and with Sonny Anderson at centre-forward.

Rivaldo needed just 26 minutes to score on his La Liga debut for the Blaugrana, netting twice as they opened the season with a win against Real Sociedad. He ended up scoring 19 times in 34 La Liga games as the Catalan club won the title at the first time of asking under Van Gaal, while Rivaldo scored eight in seven Copa del Rey matches as they made it a double.

It was a fantastic start to life at Barcelona for both famous figures, but the expectations and cultural differences made it difficult for Van Gaal to stamp his true philosophy on the club. Eventually, egos would collide and it all came crumbling down.

The following year, Rivaldo was totally untouchable, scoring and setting up goals all over the place as Barcelona racked up big wins in La Liga and played out two 3-3 thrillers with Manchester United in the Champions League. Barca won the league again, finishing an awesome 11 points ahead of Real Madrid, and Rivaldo finished second in the top-scorer charts for the second year in a row, just one goal behind Raul.

That summer, he carried that superstardom back to South America as he powered Brazil to Copa America success. He scored five in as many games, including two goals and an assist as he, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu beat Uruguay 3-0 in the final.

Rivaldo, therefore, romped to the 1999 Ballon d’Or, and there was no real debate. He finished far ahead of David Beckham and Andriy Shevchenko in the voting, and rightly so.

That, success, however, was a turning point. According to Van Gaal, Rivaldo walked in the next day and declared that it was he who calls the shots now, not the head coach. Van Gaal was apoplectic because of the arrogance, but also irritated that the star would not acknowledge the team’s contribution to his Ballon d’Or win.

“I always put Rivaldo on the left,” Van Gaal explained. “He did that very well. The team adapted to Rivaldo. The day after he won the Ballon d'Or, he came to me. He thought he should talk to the team. I actually thought he meant to thank them, but that wasn't it. [Rivaldo said] ‘I no longer play on the left, I will play as a number 10 from now on’. I told him that he would no longer play in the first team and that he had been voted the best in the world thanks to his team-mates and because he was on [the left wing]. I told him to go and thank his team-mates for his election."

But what could Van Gaal do? He had to accommodate the world's No.1 somehow. Sadly, it all went wrong. Barca lost their Liga title, finishing five points behind Deportivo, lost in the Copa del Rey semi-finals to Atletico Madrid, and, most painfully, were beaten by Valencia in the Champions League semi-finals. According to the manager, it was Rivaldo's fault.

"He was important to us and I gave in to it," he said. "Although the Spanish media portray me as arrogant, I do listen to others: the players, the people of the club, the president. However, it was too late. That's why we lost that semi-final to Valencia. That was the biggest disappointment of that time."

Van Gaal was held responsible for Barcelona's failures that season and was ultimately sacked in the summer. He found a new job immediately, taking over as Netherlands boss, while Rivaldo went back to blasting goals in at will under new manager Lorenzo Serra Ferrer.

Still, it was a horrendous period for all involved. Incredibly, Van Gaal's Oranje failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, resulting in a famous tearful press conference in which he blasted the media for their criticism throughout the campaign.

As for Barcelona, they were atrocious under Serra Ferrer despite Rivaldo scoring 36 goals in all competitions. They finished as low as fourth in the league table, crashed out of the Champions League and then lost to Liverpool in the UEFA Cup semi-finals, and were beaten 4-1 on aggregate by Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

They weren't much better the following season under Charles Rexach, either, finishing trophy-less. Rivaldo's influence had plummeted, with the Brazilian scoring only 14 goals in 33 games as Patrick Kluivert and Javier Saviola eclipsed him in attack.

Barca decided they were better off under Van Gaal after all and he was all too happy to have another crack at the whip. The first thing the Dutchman did when he walked back in in 2002? Get rid of Rivaldo.

Van Gaal returned to Barca a bit of a failure after his Dutch team's embarrassment at missing out on the World Cup. Rivaldo, however, was even more esteemed than ever before. He was now a world champion, having scored five times to help fire Brazil to glory in the tournament in Japan and South Korea.

His returning manager was not impressed, however, and told the club to sell him immediately. Van Gaal didn't care where he went, saying: "I have no worries if he wants to go to Real Madrid."

He explained: "He lacked commitment to the club, he was only interested in making more money and playing less. He was chosen as the best player in 1999, but he has not handled himself well since then and has not behaved like a footballer should. He had illusions about Barca and was requesting to take holidays when important Champions League games were approaching. He then hides back home in Brazil. He plays for Brazil like we needed him to at Barcelona, and he has proved this in the World Cup finals, showing he reserved himself for Japan. Three years ago, I tried to sell him, but (Barcelona president) Jose Luis Nunez stopped the transfer."

Rivaldo's response was brief but powerful: "He is jealous I won a World Cup he couldn't even qualify for."

Rivaldo got no benefit from the divorce, though. Despite earning Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Coppa Italia winners' medals following his move to AC Milan, Rivaldo was a bit of a disaster for the Rossoneri. He managed only eight goals in 40 games - five in Serie A - as he failed to win Carlo Ancelotti's trust and was left out of the team for large spells. He left halfway into his second season.

Even though it wasn't going well under Ancelotti, Rivaldo was happier than he had been under Van Gaal. "Ancelotti does not persecute me like Van Gaal did in Barcelona. He is different," he said. "Carlo is a funny person, who talks to you, only he does not play me. That is the problem and I do not know the reason."

Offloading his most-hated player did not give much of a boost to Van Gaal, either. Even though Barca were impressive in the Champions League for the most part, they fell apart in La Liga, and halfway through the 2002-03 season, Van Gaal was under pressure. A 4-2 loss at home to Valencia followed by a 2-0 defeat against Celta Vigo was the final straw as they dropped into the bottom half of the table.

Before the Catalan side made the decision to get rid of the coach in February, Rivaldo couldn't help but rub it in when asked about his nemesis' misery.

"I love Barcelona because I played there for five seasons, and I'm very sad when I see a club of their stature and with their fans in the lower part of the league table," he said. "But VGn Gaal is in the situation he deserves, because in life and not only football, you must always try to be a good person. You cannot lie and try to harm other people. What goes around, comes around.

"About me, for example, he said that I was unprofessional and would not give everything for the club. In a situation like this [for Barcelona] the solution is to change the manager. This will give a lift to both the supporters and the players. Barcelona is a huge club and they should not be in this situation. The players are not to blame because they are working very hard, but when things aren't going well it seems that nothing works."

Van Gaal would go on to enjoy success at Dutch side AZ before winning a double at Bayern Munich and losing the Champions League final to Inter, before enduring a mixed spell at Manchester United in between two more tenures in charge of the Netherlands.

Rivaldo, meanwhile, went back to Brazil before having a fruitful spell in Greece. From then on, his career became rather obscure, jumping around his homeland, Uzbekistan and Angola before finally retiring in 2015.

Van Gaal and Rivaldo both have a lot of good times to look back on when reflecting on their careers. They may have been successful together, but there will never be any mutual respect between the Dutchman and the Brazilian.