ESPN have a story today about one of the many Brazilian youngsters who had a chance of training at Manchester United with the hope of getting a contract.
Arthur had six trial periods between 2005 and 2007 and had the opportunity to work with many club stars, including Nemanja Vidic, Gerard Pique and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The defender played a friendly match alongside the Serbian star and was considered to be so good he was compared to him: “Vidic was a very nice guy and had just arrived from Spartak Moscow. He came to play for the B team to get in shape and go to the first team. I made a defensive partnership with him, when he was still unknown.”
The player also talked about the few conversations he had with Sir Alex Ferguson, which were all translated by the Portuguese assistant manager Carlos Queiroz: “I had more contact in trainings when he was watching and sometimes made some comments.
“I went to his room to talk once. He wanted to know about my life, my family and if I was liking the place or not. As I couldn’t speak English well, I only answered ‘Yes, mister’ (laughs). I didn’t ask him anything.”
But the lack of an European passport is what stopped him of becoming an United player: “What they told me in the end was that I couldn’t sign for Manchester United because I didn’t have a citizenship. It was lack of luck and in football we need it.”
“We took the training very seriously with the hope of staying. It was a period of great learning. It’s a dream to be there and the realisation of a dream. It’s a shame it didn’t materialise to play professionally. But I’m thankful for everything.”
Arthur has signed for several clubs since that spell, including Estoril and Boavista from Portugal. He’s currently 26 years old and is in Indonesia playing for Mitra Kukar.
