My match bonus was 10 times my salary. I gave the money to my dad. Those bonuses were more than he earned in a whole month' World's most expensive player Denilson tells extraordinary rags-to-riches tale

""The turning point came when, at just 16, I jumped straight into the first team," he tells FourFourTwo. "It was 1994, my last year as a youth player, and instead of finishing that stage, I skipped the final youth year, as well as two or three years of juniors. In effect, I was fast-tracked about four years of development. "Looking back, it all happened at the right time.""

""I wasn't even a starter in the youth teams when I was promoted. The lads born in 1976 had priority and the coach didn't rate me. At one point, he even wanted to release me, but the directors insisted I stayed. Was it challenging? Absolutely. But also wonderful. I was walking into a squad that had just won everything the state championship, the Brasileirao, two Copa Libertadores and even two Intercontinental Cups against Johan Cruyff's Barcelona and Milan's Fabio Capello.""

Denilson became the world's most expensive footballer in 1998 when Real Betis completed a high-fee transfer. He joined the Andalusian club and spent seven years at Estadio Benito Villamarín before later playing in France, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Denilson grew up in an impoverished São Paulo neighbourhood and made his first-team debut for a historic Brazilian club at age 17. He nearly signed for Barcelona before Betis secured the move. He was fast-tracked into senior football at 16, skipping several years of youth development. His career was shaped by both competitive challenges and financial pressures.

Read at www.fourfourtwo.com