Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo has criticised his club AC Milan for their failure to give him a chance to prove himself in Serie A.

"Without doubt this has been the worst year of my career," the striker told reporters at the Teresopolis training camp where Brazil are preparing for World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay.

"At Milan I'm giving everything I've got during training to earn myself a chance.

"I honestly don't know why I can't find space in the team, even on the bench. My Brazilian teammates know how hard I'm trying."

The 31-year-old has not impressed in Italy since his free transfer from Barcelona at the beginning of the 2002-03 season.

Injuries and poor form disrupted a disappointing first season that he finished on the bench, watching his teammates win the Champions League.

The situation has not improved this season, with Rivaldo making just one appearance for Milan so far.

In September the striker announced his departure from the club by mutual consent, but reconsidered after receiving a warm farewell from the fans and being told by Brazil coach Alberto Parreira that he would not be selected for international duty if he wasn't training with a club.

Rivaldo is still set to leave Milan when the transfer market opens in January, but refused to speculate on possible destinations.

"Right now I'm not thinking of my future. I just want to get through the rest of a bad year and then we'll see what happens," he said.