Tax bill stopped me from joining Barça - Denilson
Denilson has revealed that he was prevented from joining Barcelona instead of Real Betis because neither the Catalan club nor São Paulo would pay the tax on the transfer fee.
Now back at a high level with Palmeiras, the 31-year-old has talked about a possible move to Camp Nou for the first time and explained why talks broke down after a deal had been agreed.
In 1998, Denilson was one of the most highly rated youngsters in Brazil and Barça looked set to snap him up, but instead he ended up joining Real Betis for a world record fee of $32m.
"I went to sleep thinking that I had signed for Barcelona and woke up and found that I had signed for Betis," he told Don Balón.
"The first official proposal that I received was from Barcelona. The negotiations were then practically completed.
"One detail about who would pay the taxes for the transfer meant that talks stopped and I ended up not going."
Betis wanted to sign one big name at the time and chose to break the bank to sign Denilson, a move that is reported to have led to financial problems for the club ever since.
"They came in with an offer that Sao Paulo could not refuse. Economically it was very good for me too and I chose to accept it," he added.
Denilson has revealed that he was prevented from joining Barcelona instead of Real Betis because neither the Catalan club nor São Paulo would pay the tax on the transfer fee.
Now back at a high level with Palmeiras, the 31-year-old has talked about a possible move to Camp Nou for the first time and explained why talks broke down after a deal had been agreed.
In 1998, Denilson was one of the most highly rated youngsters in Brazil and Barça looked set to snap him up, but instead he ended up joining Real Betis for a world record fee of $32m.
"I went to sleep thinking that I had signed for Barcelona and woke up and found that I had signed for Betis," he told Don Balón.
"The first official proposal that I received was from Barcelona. The negotiations were then practically completed.
"One detail about who would pay the taxes for the transfer meant that talks stopped and I ended up not going."
Betis wanted to sign one big name at the time and chose to break the bank to sign Denilson, a move that is reported to have led to financial problems for the club ever since.
"They came in with an offer that Sao Paulo could not refuse. Economically it was very good for me too and I chose to accept it," he added.