I dropped to seventh tier - now I play with Benzema and could face Haaland

The Brazilian midfielder has enjoyed a surreal journey from MK Dons and dropping to the seventh tier in England to where he is now - playing alongside Karim Benzema at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Saudi Arabia football revolution has dominated headlines over the past year, with a succession of big-money and big-name signings putting the Saudi Pro League on the map.

Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante and a host of others have instantly made Saudi Arabia one of the top football destinations in the world, but before all those players there was one big signing that broke the records.

It was Coronado - and it all started in Milton Keynes.

Coronado was just 15 when he joined the MK Dons academy after his parents relocated from Brazil to the UK for work.

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He came up through the ranks with Dele Alli, but unlike the Englishman who would go on to star for Tottenham and the Three Lions, Coronado was released by the League One club at the end of the 2010/11 season without making an appearance, deemed not good enough to make it.

He then joined non-league Oxfordshire club Banbury United at the age of 18 before a move to Maltese club Floriana, where he really began to show his playmaking talents.

His form in Malta led to a stint in Serie B with Trapani and Palermo, where he made over 100 appearances combined, and almost led Palermo to Serie A promotion - losing in the play-off final after a stunning campaign.

His talismanic performances led to interest from Watford and a possible return to English football, but he snubbed a Premier League transfer in favour of a $5million move to the Middle East, joining UAE club Sharjah in 2018.

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It was a bold choice, but he was an instant hit, scoring 17 goals in his first season to help guide his new side to the UAE Pro League title - their first since 1996.

His first career silverware marked eight years since being released by MK Dons and after two more seasons where he became a firm favourite, he moved on again in a transfer that was a precursor to the huge influx of star signings in the Saudi Pro League.

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His $12million switch to Al Ittihad broke the record as the most expensive transfer between Gulf clubs, and again he hit the ground running. His new club finished second in his first season, before being crowned Pro League champions in the 2022/23 campaign, with Coronado providing six goals and 15 assists.

Nobody saw what was coming up that next summer, though, as he was joined at his club by a Ballon d'Or winner and two Premier League champions in Benzema, Kante and Fabinho, while he found himself competing against Ronaldo, Neymar and many more superstars.

Their title win last term means Al Ittihad are competing in the FIFA Club World Cup this season, where they are already into the second round after a 3-0 first round victory over Auckland City.

The stage is set for a possible final matchup with Man City, where Coronado could face Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland and their historic treble winners.

Now 31 and mixing it with some of football's most iconic players - it's been some journey from a boy once not deemed good enough for League One.

"It's something I've always worked really hard towards, but it's something that I didn't expect to happen when I came to Saudi Arabia," Coronado told talkSPORT after the win over Auckland.

"Of course we always try to do our best in football, but the Club World Cup back then wasn't something that was planned.

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"I think we were the champions of the Saudi league at the right time and for sure this is something special for us."

Something special is certainly one way of putting it.