1998 DENILSON

£ 21.5M > SAO PAULO > REAL BETIS

“I love my family,” was the heart- warming – or possibly stomach- churning? – slogan on Denilson’s T- shirt in September 2001.

The spaghetti- legged Brazilian wideman must have believed that his £ 21.5 million move to Real Betis was finally working out.

His 1998 transfer had been problematic: tax issues foiled a switch to Barcelona, so he joined Betis. His destination didn’t matter to selling club Sao Paulo, who used the cash to renovate their stadium. As Denilson said, “The whole ‘ most expensive player ever’ thing got out of hand. People suddenly thought I was going to arrive in Spain and become the top scorer in La Liga.”

Despite Betis’ relegation in 1999- 2000 – and the news his agent had siphoned off the fee owed to him – Denilson later inspired Los Verdiblancos to sixth in La Liga in 2001- 02. He then became the obvious scapegoat of fans frustrated by a series of false dawns. That was harsh – Betis had 10 bosses in his seven years at Estadio Benito Villamarin – but also understandable. The winger exited with more bookings ( 33) than league goals ( 14).

Nor did the Brazilian’s love of nightlife help. Over- indulging at a party, Denilson once escaped it through a toilet window when he found out president Manuel Ruiz de Lopera – tipped off by his private investigator – was inside the building.

The tragedy is that, in the past 25 years, few footballers – Romario and Ronaldo being obvious exceptions – have played with such inhibited joy as Denilson. At his very best, he could mesmerise defenders with a stepover, scoop the ball over a player’s head without looking and beat four opponents from inside his own half. In 2002, his form earned him a place in Brazil’s World Cup- winning squad, ending with eight Selecao goals in 61 outings. It should have been more.

Such talent made Denilson’s itinerant decline – via Bordeaux, Saudi Arabia, the US, Brazil, Vietnam, Greece and a demoralising snub by Bolton – all the more devastating. When he arrived in Vietnam in 2009, he was 32 and his knees were shot ( although he still earned $ 12,000 for his solitary game).

When hugely promising careers conclude that badly, our instinct is to blame the player. Sure, in the summer of 2006 Denilson left Bordeaux for Al- Nassr after a row about his wage demands, but it’s also true that, after he left his homeland, few of his managers really knew what to do with him.