Andreas Pereira may be having his first chance to play a full season for Manchester United’s senior squad this year, but it’s been a while since he first signed for the club.
The Brazilian has joined the Red Devils back in 2012, still at the age of 16, on a move from Dutch side PSV.
As told by ESPN Brasil this week, the player had many clubs interested in him at the time, but there was something special about his visit to Carrington that convinced the player to sign for United. That was Sir Alex Ferguson.
“I arrived here at the age of 16, went to see the training centre, and I hadn’t expected that I would see him”, Andreas Pereira told ESPN Brasil. “I was in the room there to have lunch, I think. I saw him in the hallway, and I didn’t believe it, at the time I was with my father.
“And he said ‘good morning’ to me in Portuguese, so I got… my eye widened. Then he said ‘there’s always room for a Brazilian in my team’. Then I didn’t want to know anything else, I wanted to sign the contract as soon as possible. This moment I will never forget in my life.”
Andreas Pereira was later loaned out to La Liga twice. He first spent the 2016-17 season at Granada, and then moved to Valencia for 2017-18.
But now manager José Mourinho has decided to keep him in the squad, and the player claims to be pretty happy with the chance the boss is giving him.
“He helps me a lot”, Andreas says. “He tells me what to do on and off the pitch. He gives me several tips. He scolds me too when he has to, so he is a very correct and very fair manager. He helps me a lot.”
“I’m very happy that he’s here, for giving me this opportunity, for letting me play. Off the field he’s a very good person, very calm, speaks with you as a friend. So I’m very happy.”
