Former Arsenal midfielder Denilson has given Globo Esporte an interview, and brought many details about his departure from the London side.
Signed in a €5m deal from São Paulo in 2006, the Brazilian made 153 appearance for the Gunners before returning to his old club in 2011.
Denilson was only 23 years of age at the time, and that’s quite a young age for footballers to return to South America. But he says the reason he left Arsenal is that he missed his family too much.
“As I stayed at the club for five years and I was two or three years on my own, then I started taking people to stay with me. But even so, I missed the family a lot. I took the people, but emotionally I wasn’t very well. I still managed to stay five years”, Denilson told Globo Esporte.
“There were a few months left to get the European passport. It was six years at the time to achieve this. I couldn’t take it anymore. It was more the cold weather in England, the people who were cold and emotionally draining me in the country. On the pitch it reflected a lot.”
“I was going to be loaned to other clubs. One of the interested parties were Shakhtar. There was also an interest from Sevilla, where a club representative even had lunch at my house, among others. I asked to go back to Brazil. In reality I would go to Fluminense. It wasn’t even to São Paulo. At the last minute things turned around and I ended up going back to São Paulo.”
The player says things could’ve been a little different had he waited longer before returning to Brazil.
“The way it was, I couldn’t stay there anymore. I needed fresh air. One reason was some clubs showing interest in my work. Even so, I wanted to go back to Brazil, which is my country. This would bring me closer to the family. If I stayed I don’t know what could have happened. I believe that if I had stayed longer I would get the European passport. This was a great advantage of looking for other ways.”
Still, he says he has no regrets for his decision to leave Arsenal.
“I don’t regret having returned to São Paulo. I leave my gratitude to everyone who fought for me to return to São Paulo. I’m grateful for everything that São Paulo have done for me since I was a child and after my return.”
Denilson is currently 32, and after playing for non league side Botafogo-SP last year, he’s looking for a club to join in 2020.
