‘I would have gone to Liverpool or Tottenham’ says 42 G/A former PL midfielder as he rues career decision

Middlesbrough icon Juninho Paulista has reopened one of the Premier League’s great sliding-door moments, admitting he should have resisted the lure of La Liga and remained in England when his Middlesbrough future hung in the balance during the late 1990s. Speaking on a Brazilian podcast, the 50-year-old attacking midfielder—who registered 34 goals and 18 assists in 150 top-flight appearances for the Teesside club—revealed that official offers from Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were on the table before he instead elected to join Atletico Madrid for £11.9 million in 1997.

The transfer saga began when Middlesbrough slapped a £12 million valuation on their diminutive superstar, a fee that Sir Alex Ferguson balked at, prompting Manchester United to walk away from talks. The collapse of that proposed move created an opportunity for two other English heavyweights. “Liverpool and Tottenham made offers,” Juninho confirmed, underscoring that a switch within the Premier League was a genuine possibility.

Yet the Brazil international opted for the Spanish capital, spending two seasons with Atletico before embarking on a series of loan moves, including a celebrated return to Middlesbrough. By the time he came back to the Riverside permanently in 2002, the price had dropped to £5.9 million, and while he helped the club lift the 2004 League Cup, the intervening years have given him ample time to reflect on what might have been.

“If I had the awareness I have today, I wouldn’t have left England,” Juninho said. “I would have gone to Liverpool or Tottenham.” His candid assessment highlights how a single decision can redirect a career trajectory, particularly in an era when £12 million represented a seismic outlay. Middlesbrough’s determination not to sell to a domestic rival such as Manchester United ultimately steered the playmaker abroad, a choice the player now views as misguided.

With Tottenham currently watching Igor Tudor attempt to steer them away from relegation trouble and Liverpool ever-present in the Champions League conversation, Juninho’s revelation adds a layer of nostalgia—and regret—to Premier League folklore. The 42 combined goals and assists he supplied for Middlesbrough hint at the creative spark either club missed, leaving fans to ponder how different the late 1990s landscape might have looked had he stayed on English soil.