Manchester United midfielder Fred has admitted he ‘suffered a lot’ in his first season at the club after being labelled a ‘flop’ by fans and journalists alike.
The Brazilian midfielder arrived at Old Trafford in a £53m move from Shakhtar Donetsk in July 2018, with United beating rivals Manchester City to his signature.
He arrived in Manchester with plenty of expectation on his shoulders, with many hoping he could be the key ingredient that would finally get the best out of Paul Pogba.
However, his first season at the club proved to be disappointing, with the midfielder spending most of the season out of the squad or sat on the bench.
That naturally led to plenty of criticism, with many labelling Fred as one of the flops of the season and questioning what Manchester United ever saw in him.
He’s since enjoyed a resurgence under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, become a key part of Manchester United’s squad and is showing why the club signed him in the first place.
However, that year still weighs hard on him, as he revealed in an in-depth interview with Globo Esporte.
“I suffered a lot with my first season, even for the amount they paid,” he told them.
“You come with a high expectation; it turns out that if you don’t play all the games well, you will be criticised.
“I suffered a lot of criticism from the press and the fans, but I always kept motivating myself, working.
“I never dropped the shuttlecock. I was even treated like a “flop”, but I kept working my best.”
