The former Arsenal midfielder opens up about his return to Brazil, what the future holds for his football career, and why he wants to visit Leicester
Deciding to leave Arsenal at the end of the 2010-11 season was a tough one for Denilson. Eventually, it was the feeling of isolation in the UK that led him to feel the need to return to Brazil.
It crept up on him during his last year playing for the club. Still adapting to his new life in London, he found loneliness was beginning to affect his football. “I was by myself in England and I didn’t have much support around me toward the last months at Arsenal,” Denilson told us.
“I felt really lonely and couldn’t perform on pitch. That’s when I decided to go back to Brazil.”
Although he sincerely thanks his team-mates and Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger for their guidance, it was ultimately his mental health that took him back to his roots. “I had great support from Gilberto Silva on and off the pitch. He was always reaching out to keep that friendship. And Wenger really supported me after I came from Brazil as such a young age, always checking how I was doing outside the pitch.”
Read the full article in Niche Magazine.
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