Andreas Pereira has scored one goal for Fulham this season and it came in their Premier League defeat to Manchester City in October.
The midfielder gave Fulham the lead at the Etihad in the 26th minute. Rodrigo Muniz also got his name on the scoresheet for Marco Silva’s side.
Fulham weren’t able to avoid a defeat as Mateo Kovačić’s brace and Jérémy Doku’s goal helped Manchester City seal a 3-2 win at home.
Pereira has now given an interview to PL Brasil where he explained about his celebration against Manchester City. He replicated former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘siu’ celebration in front of the Manchester City supporters.
The 28-year-old spent 11 years with the Citizens’ local rivals, Manchester United, before arriving at Fulham in 2022. He said his intention was to ‘annoy’ the home fans at the Etihad.
“For me, it’s always a place [the Etihad] where you want to win. Against City, when the goal came, I just thought: ‘What am I going to do here in this stadium to annoy the fans… I’m going to launch CR7,” he said.
The Brazil international’s Fulham teammates were caught off guard with his celebration. Pereira has revealed he’s a fan of Ronaldo and would repeat his idol’s celebration in the future.
“I did the celebration, and the guys [at Fulham] all said: ‘You’re crazy’. I’m a fan of his [Ronaldo] and it’s not just at this stadium either, if I score now, for the national team, anyway, I’d do it again,” Pereira explained.
The Fulham player then discussed his admiration towards the Portugal international, who is currently at Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.
“He’s always been my inspiration as an athlete, and I’ve always liked him a lot. I had the chance to meet him at a game at Old Trafford: Portugal vs Argentina. At the time, I went with Anderson and Nani. I went to the hotel, spoke to him… I wanted the chance to meet him, and, for me, it was a dream,” he added.
