Denilson is one of the those players that was highly praised during his youth and considered to be one of the most promising talents in the world of football but just couldn’t live up to the hype and expectations.
Arsene Wenger signed Denilson back when the Brazilian player was only 18 years old for a transfer fee of £3.4 million and he spent 5 seasons performing in the Premier League club. Unfortunately for Denilson, he could never really stand out and injuries were another factor that limited his playing time in the pitch.
In the 5 seasons that he spent as an Arsenal player, Denilson failed to snatch a significant piece of silverware and this shows how much the Premier League club struggled to win any competition in this period of time. However, despite not going through the best of times with Arsenal, Denilson stated that joining a top club such as Arsenal is a dream come true.
The 28 year old player stated that he is doing what his father couldn’t do and it’s to play football every day and utilize it as a consistent source of income, this is something that he is extremely proud to do.
“My father, Jose, was a professional footballer for Botafogo. Like me, he was a midfielder. But he had to give it up at 25 to look after my mother, my brothers and me.’’
“But at that time all the big clubs and all the money were based in the south of the country and without TV or the internet it was difficult for a player up there to make his name. But he had just got married and my mother, Luciene, was pregnant with my oldest brother. So he needed to stop playing and get a job. He had to give up football to be with my mother, not to leave her by herself and for the next 15 years he worked as a security guard. It was my father who taught me the game and so many other things. Now I am living his dream for him and my mum’s dream.’’ Denilson said.
Denilson’s career has not been the most impressive or successful one as his time in Arsenal was underwhelming and he later went on to join his childhood club São Paulo but things did not change much. Even though Denilson has not lived up to the expectations of Arsene Wenger and other notable figures in the world of football, he is just happy to be a football player and help out his family get out from their poverty and struggles.
