Putin plans to use the visit to meet his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff and attend an unofficial Handover Ceremony with to mark the fact Russia is due to be the next host of the World Cup in 2018. 

Putin will also handover a symbolic Olympic flag from Sochi 2014 to Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes in recognition of the fact that the Brazilian city is due to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. 

The special ceremony will happen either in a VIP box of the Estádio Maracanã immediately after the final or in Russian House, set-up in Rio de Janeiro to help promote Russian trade and culture, the newspaper Izvestia reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is among leaders to have already attended the World Cup, watching her country beat Portugal 4-0 ©Getty Images

Putin's visit to Brazil has also be timed to the summit of the BRICS states that is to take place in the middle of July in Fortaleza, Brazil.

The bloc includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Other world leaders have already attended the World Cup, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who watched her country's 4-0 victory over Portugal, while United States Vice President Joseph Biden watched America beat Ghana 2-1.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]