World Cup magic has long doubled as a shop window, and BBC Sport's retrospective highlights the players whose tournament heroics translated directly into blockbuster moves.
The piece traces a familiar pattern in football history: a relatively unheralded name lights up the World Cup stage, and within months clubs are lining up cheques to secure their signature. According to BBC Sport, these breakout displays have repeatedly convinced big spenders that a month of standout form is proof enough of genuine quality, even when a player's club career beforehand offered little hint of what was coming.
While the specifics of each case are covered in the original feature, the broader theme is clear — the World Cup remains one of the few stages capable of transforming a player's market value almost overnight. Scouts and sporting directors alike treat these tournaments as an accelerated audition, willing to gamble on a few weeks of brilliance translating into long-term success at club level.
As ever with major tournaments, this summer's edition looks set to produce its own crop of would-be stars hoping a strong showing can fast-track a dream move.