Back in the days of ‘Match’ magazine (perhaps ‘Shoot if you were that way inclined) writing down my own dream team of world beaters became a rather unproductive hobby. Typical names such as Edgar Davids, Zinedine Zidane, Raul and…..Dennis Irwin….where always the first on the team list. Starting elevens were made with the attitude of a young Gordon Gekko, meaning money talked. Suddenly Luis Figo was bumped and who was his replacement? Step Forward Transfer record breaker Denilson de Oliveira Araújo.
The transfer record had only a year previously been smashed open by Luis Ronaldo (before that Shearer), who had already gained international super stardom under the wisdom of Sir Bobby Robson at Barcelona. But Denilson was rather unheard of away from South American waters. Whilst Luis Ronaldo had the battering ram side to his game, Denilson was extremely slight and nowhere near as robust as the great man. However he was blessed with an unbelievable talent on the ball. It was the Spanish team Real Betis who eventually succumbed to the winger’s skill-full charms and they eventually forked out an incredible £21.5 million pounds. Betis at the time had the attendance’s and finances to back up such a preposterous amount of money but sadly Denilson really never paid back such faith. It was reported that Barcelona had shown interest but the money was the bigger draw. This became a running theme through his career as the player became a financial anchor for his club with due to a huge bumper contract. The club suffered failings and successes without him, even enjoying champions league qualification in the 2004-2005 season and a Copa Del Ray win the same year, by this time he was just a bit part player, making only 3 starts in his final season
Denilson was quick with his feet on the pitch but also with following the cash. After 7 seasons and just 13 goals the winger was loaned out to Flamengo and later sold to Bordeaux. Major League soccer followed from a spell in Saudi Arabia then spells with Palmeiras, Itumbiara, Vietnamese team Hai Phong and finally Greek side Kavala.
Perhaps what makes this figure stand out so much is that so many previous and future transfer record breakers achieved great success in their careers. Zidane, Crespo, Vieri, Figo even Gareth Bale managed to almost shake off those enormous fees and be vital figureheads for their respective clubs.
Denilson still managed a rather respectable 60 caps for Brazil, Playing in every game at France 98 and even collecting a winner’s medal in 2002. Not bad for someone once described by my granddad as an ‘unnecessary showoff’. A bit harsh considering what could have been