Brazilian club Sao Paulo said Tuesday that they were interested in bringing 2002 World Cup winner Rivaldo back to play in his homeland.

The 31-year-old striker, who is widely reported to be the target of several English premier league clubs, is searching for a new team after being released by AC Milan last week.

He is reported to be in the small town of Mogi Mirim in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo, where he is deciding on the next step in his career.

Sao Paulo's director of football Juvenal Juvencio told Brazilian television that he wanted to talk to Rivaldo, who played for the club's two biggest rivals Palmeiras and Corinthians earlier in his career.

"We need to see how much he wants to earn but it would be very good to talk to the player," Juvencio said.

Rivaldo joined Milan from Barcelona after winning the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 but never managed to reproduce the form that made him such a success in Spain.

After a low-key first season he was left on the bench for the Champions League final against Juventus and this year has been left on the fringes.

Rivaldo recently described the past year as the worst of his career, while Brazilian media have criticised Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti.

However, Rivaldo has kept his place in the Brazil team and scored his team's goal in last month's 1-1 draw away to Peru in a qualifier for the 2006 World Cup.