7. Denilson
Denilson had what it took to achieve greatness: Ballon d'Ors, World Cups, Champions Leagues - the lot. But most of this never happened. The Brazilian made his debut at the age of 17 for Sao Paolo and went on to appear 50 times for his boyhood club, in which time he was able to win Copa CONMEBOL and Campeonato Paulista trophies. He also enjoyed a successful start to his national career, winning both the Copa America and Confederations Cup in 1997 before appearing in every game during Brazil's 1998 World Cup campaign in which they came runners-up. This prompted Spanish first division outfit Real Betis to splash a hefty amount of cash on the Brazilian sensation - an unprecedented amount at the time of around £21.5 million (
according to BBC Sport.) This amount broke the world record transfer fee, surpassing fellow Brazilian, Ronaldo and in the process becoming the first player to break the £20m mark. While many transfer record holders went on to show their worth - the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo come to mind - Denilson can be considered one of the most expensive flops of all time. In his first season at Betis, Denilson appeared 35 times and scored just twice - hardly the expected scoring rate of a man deemed to be worth over £20m. The following season, nightmare struck and Betis were relegated from the La Liga with Denilson subsequently being shipped out on loan back to Brazil in the 2000-01 season. After a brief spell at Flamengo, Denilson returned to Betis and proved to be a key player for the remainder of the campaign in which Betis won promotion back to the top flight. The Brazilian went on to appear regularly for Betis over the next few seasons, but mostly as a substitute. By the 2004-05 campaign in which Betis finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League, Denilson was nothing more than a rotation player (starting just three times) and went on to sign for French side Bordeaux. A £21.5 million transfer fee paid from Betis amounted to just one Copa del Rey title.
After a consistent season for Bordeaux, Denilson left to join Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr due to the French sides inability to meet his demanding wages. This is where things went from bad to worse for the Brazilian and subsequently led to several spells for less well-known clubs. From US side FC Dallas to Vietnamese side Vicem Hải Phòng, Denilson travelled across the globe spending ever-so brief spells at irrelevant teams. When the man who had all the potential was in his prime, he was appearing in the V-League. What a shame for a player who could have been one of the greats.
Current Status: Retired.
What He Could Have Been: Key player for one of Europe's finest and the Brazil national side.