Leônidas
da Silva
Brazil's great star of the
1930s was Leônidas da Silva. The European newspapers
called him the 'The Black Diamond', and 'the Rubber
Man’ because of his incredible skill. He invented the
bicycle kick, and regularly scored great goals.
The fans loved Da Silva, and clubs would always attract
at least 2,000 extra spectators when the 'Black Diamond
was playing. Leônidas is second only to Pelé as the
greatest-ever Brazilian goal scorer. His goal scoring
record was 24 goals in 24 games.
Transfer Fee - two pairs of shoes
Da Silva's first signing-on fee included two suits and
two pairs of shoes. Today his transfer fee would
probably be £20 million!