David Ginola has admitted he felt 'stabbed in the back' after being denied a move to Barcelona by Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan.
Ginola was one of the more highly-regarded players in Europe in the early-1990s after captaining PSG to the title and being given player of the year honours in France.
And Barcelona twice tried to snap him up — first before he moved to the north east and then again after his successful first season with Newcastle.
He has now revealed how Johan Cruyff made a personal effort to try and bring him to the Nou Camp.
'I was invited by Johan Cruyff, Barcelona's manager, to a golf tournament in Tarragona, Spain, and he told me he wanted to sign me,' Ginola told the Athletic.
'After our golf game, I went back to Cruyff's house, we sat down and he told me straight, "You are my priority." I had to keep it quiet because they still had players like Gheorghe Hagi and Hristo Stoichkov and they had to get rid of some of them, but it was like a dream for me.
'Cruyff was my idol. His was the only poster I had on my bedroom wall as a kid. He was sitting opposite me saying, "You remind me of me, when I was playing."
'That was one of the biggest compliments of my career, because he meant so much to me. The decision was made, it was done, my life was there [with Barcelona].
'I waited and waited until mid-July, when I received a call saying he couldn't get rid of the other players and so he couldn't sign me. It was a really big disappointment.
'That was when I was contacted by Terry McDermott, Keegan's assistant at Newcastle, saying they wanted me. I didn't know anything about the club, but I said, "OK, I'll come."
'That same night, David Dein rang me to try to sign me for Arsenal, but it was too late, I'd given my word.'
While that move would not pan out, Ginola would have another opportunity to move to Barcelona in 1996, after he had joined Newcastle.
Bobby Robson was in charge of the Spanish giants and he was keen to snap up the midfielder.
But Newcastle boss Keegan was not willing to let him go and Ginola admitted that it had left him feeling as though he had been betrayed by the manager.
'I was back in the south of France on holiday, sad because we lost the title, but not expecting anything else, when the phone rang and it was Sir Bobby, saying he wanted me, that they were going to make an offer,' Ginola said. 'I was like, "No, no, no. Don't put this in my mind again."
'They started at £6million and went up to £12m, until Keegan called me and said it didn't matter how much they bid, Newcastle wouldn't let me go. I said to him, "You have to. This is my last chance to play for Barcelona — a club which will be winning trophies every year."
'It was no disrespect to Newcastle, but a career is so short. When it didn't happen again, I had to go back. And then when Keegan left us that January, he left me, too. I felt stabbed in the back.'
Ginola would have an impressive two years at Newcastle in which he played 58 times, helping them challenge for the title. He would move onto Spurs, who he represented 100 times in the league before spells with Aston Villa and Everton.