Tomasson. Newcastle's second-place league finish the season before meant they qualified for the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League; Asprilla started the first game against Barcelona and scored a hat-trick in a 3–2 win. These would turn out to be his last goals for the club. By the end of January 1998, with Newcastle struggling in the league and eliminated from the Champions League, Asprilla's time at Newcastle came to an end. He was sold back to Parma for £6 million, having scored a total of nine goals in 48 Premier League appearances and nine goals in 11 European matches. Return to Parma In his second spell at Parma, Asprilla won his second UEFA Cup, coming on as a substitute as Parma defeated Marseille in the final. Palmeiras Asprilla played in the successful Palmeiras team in the 1999 and 2000 seasons. He won both the Rio-São Paulo Tournament and the Brazilian Champions Cup in 2000. Later career and Darlington link Although his brief time with Palmeiras saw the team achieve success, for Asprilla personally his time there marked the beginning of a pattern of short, relatively unproductive stays with various clubs across various countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Argentina. During a time which was generally low-key, he appeared in the public eye again in 2002 amid reports he had been approached by English Division Three side Darlington. Darlington successfully appealed an initial work permit refusal and had offered around £17,000 per week plus 20% of gate receipts, a car and a rent-free flat. Chairman George Reynolds considered they were friends and in fact paraded Asprilla in front of 5,163 fans before Darlington's 2–0 win over Carlisle United on 27 August, believing the intended two-year contract was good as signed. However, it was reported that after Asprilla stalled on taking a medical on 29 August, in the early hours of 30 August, Asprilla caught a flight from Newcastle Airport to the Middle East, apparently to accept a more lucrative contract offer. Reynolds described himself as "absolutely gutted" by the snub, complaining Asprilla "did not even have the decency to say goodbye" and said he would never talk to him again. This was the second time Darlington was snubbed by a high-profile ex-Newcastle player that summer, the first being Paul Gascoigne. The identity of the Middle East club has never been revealed. International career Summary Asprilla scored 20 goals in 57 matches