Ronaldinho headlining a legends match between France and Brazil

French and Brazilian players from years past will renew a longstanding rivalry next month.

The gala event between the two nations will be held on November 15 at Stade Raymond-Kopa, the home of Angers SCO.

The match will feature players from both teams previously featured in Ligue 1, including Ronaldinho, who won the Intertoto Cup with Paris Saint-Germain in 2001.

The former World Cup champion and Ballon d’Or winner will play alongside Brazilians Valdo, Cris, Maicon, Cláudio Caçapa and Sonny Anderson, to name a few.

On the French side, 2006 World Cup runner-up Claude Makélélé will be among those representing Les Bleus.

These two nations have met four times before at the World Cup, with the French emerging victorious on three occasions, including a 1-0 triumph in the 2006 quarter-finals thanks to a goal by Thierry Henry.

France’s first World Cup triumph in 1998 came against the Brazilians at the Stade de France as a brace from Zinédine Zidane and one goal by Emmanuel Petit gave Les Bleus a 3-0 victory, the worst finals defeat for Brazil at the time.

Brazil won the last two meetings against Les Bleus, coming from behind to beat them 3-1 in a 2015 friendly match played in Saint-Denis. There is no word on what other French players will participate in the special event.

Antonio Rudiger would love to play alongside William Saliba at Real Madrid.

William Saliba has established himself as one of the best young defenders in the world. The Saint-Étienne graduate who joined the Gunners in the summer of 2019 has been a constant feature for them at the back in recent seasons. He has formed a dependable partnership with Gabriel Magalhães at the back and received a lot of plaudits from pundits and former players.

While his contract with the North London club runs until the summer of 2027, multiple top clubs are keen on prising him away. Real Madrid are one of the clubs who have been linked with the 23-year-old and their defensive mainstay Antonio Rudiger was asked about which defender he would like to sign during an interview.

Rudiger and Militao are one of the best defensive partnerships in world football and the German international is quite happy playing alongside the Brazilian international. But, he is aware of the fact that they lack depth at the back and Saliba could just be the perfect fit for their team.

Given the number of games a team like Real Madrid features in, signing Saliba will help them form a strong defensive rotation. With Rudiger and Alaba on the wrong side of 30, the Arsenal star could be the best possible signing for Los Blancos.

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