Dennis Bergkamp reveals he rejected Barcelona before joining Arsenal in 1995
DENNIS BERGKAMP has revealed he snubbed the chance to sign for Barcelona.
Bergkamp established himself as one of the best players of his generation over a career that took in Ajax, Inter Milan and Arsenal.
But the former Dutch star says he also had the opportunity to join idol Johan Cruyff in Spain - only to knock him back because he wanted to play in the tough Italian league.
Gunners legend Bergkamp told FourFourTwo: "He never said it in so many words, but he wanted me to join him at Barcelona.
"He kept telling me all the teams not to go to, leaving Barcelona as the only one left!
"I always had the feeling I'd go to Italy, the biggest league at the time. I didn't want to go to Milan because Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard had gone there.
"It came down to Juventus or Inter. We had a better feeling from the people at Inter. They made a lot of promises – which I found out later was something they did a lot.
"They said: "We're going to play more offensive." They did, but only for the first month!
"It wasn't what I'd hoped for. But Italy was good for my development.
"I learned to be more professional, learned to play against two or three defenders, and to play with players who are there for themselves rather than for the team."
Bergkamp was still developing as a player during his time in Serie A, and there were times when he struggled for form or to live up to his billing as one of the best young forwards around.
And he admits the attention he got from the Italian press was far worse than anything he encountered during his time in the Premier League with Arsenal.
He added: "They expected me to talk to them every day in detail.
"I said: 'If there's a game on Sunday, of course on Monday I'll talk to you about the game. But I'm not going to talk again about it on Tuesday and Wednesday. So I'll talk to the media twice a week,' which is a lot compared to England, and even more compared to Holland.
"But they were angry. They wanted me to talk all the time, and I said no. I need my private life as well, and in England the press respect that.
"The English tabloids criticised me at first when I didn't score in my first seven or eight games. Fair enough.
"I never mind if people hammer me about football. But in Italy they made up ridiculous stories. One time I had a haircut and they said my hair was falling out because I couldn't cope."
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