Sir Alex Ferguson played a important role in Arsenal fan Andreas Pereira’s move to Manchester United after he turned down a chance to play for his youth club.
Andreas Pereira has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to turn down Arsenal for Manchester United when he was young.
Pereira, 27, played for Belgian side Lommel and PSV before moving to England for United in 2011. The Brazilian, then 15, worked his way up through the youth academy at Old Trafford before making his debut for the infamous first 4-0 loss to MK Dons in August 2014.
After scoring his first United goal under Louis van Gaal the following season, Pereira was sent on loan to Granada and Valencia before starting a decent run in the squad. However, Pereira, who also played for Lazio and Flamengo, never managed to establish himself with the Red Devils.
He left on a permanent move last summer after an 11-year partnership which saw the attacking midfielder move to Fulham for £10m. But Pereira’s career path might have been different had Ferguson not stepped in and urged him to join United rather than Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.
Speaking on The American Dream Podcast with Tim Ream, Pereira said: “It was really special. I spoke to my dad and my head was with Arsenal, I wanted to go to Arsenal.
“I was a fan and loved the way they played football. It was around the time Wilshere got their first games and I got a Wilshere t-shirt and I loved that t-shirt.
“It turned out United were interested and I’ve always been a Cristiano Ronaldo fan, and my dad said, ‘Okay, let’s see how it is over there. “In my head I wanted to come and visit, and my head was so on Arsenal but Sir Alex Ferguson came and said it was nice to meet me and I was shocked.
“But it wasn’t just me, it was my dad, I never saw him in shock with anyone and he didn’t know what to do or say hello. He said to me:” I still have a place. For a Brazilian in my team, I saw you at the Nike Cup. “And when he said I was like, ‘I’m staying here, I don’t care. Arsenal, I love Ronaldo, I love Rooney. “I like everyone.”
Since leaving United in July 2022, Pereira has become a mainstay in the Fulham squad and was instrumental in their best Premier League finish in over a decade when they finished 10th. The former Brazil international has bagged five goals and six assists for Los Blancos.
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