Having spent a lot of his career at Manchester United, Anderson knows the club in and out, and while he has since retired, he still follows his former club.
The Brazilian, who played in Turkey before hanging up his boots, gave an interview to Globo Esporte this week, where he was asked questions about the Old Trafford side, as well as some of his former teammates, such as Cristiano Ronaldo.
The ex-midfielder didn’t hold back when talking about Manchester United as a whole, not understanding the direction the club are going in.
He said: “Nowadays, small clubs go to play at Old Trafford, and are not afraid. Today, the club doesn’t know which manager it will have, who controls it. It’s a mess. Manchester United sometimes buy very badly. If you’re going to pay €100m for a player, pay for Neymar.
Despite many people lauding the decision from Erik ten Hag to freeze out Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United following the star’s return, Anderson believes the move was a big mistake.
He said: “When Cristiano came back… man, it’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Protect him. Today, he has 50 goals. ‘Ah, but it’s Saudi Arabia’, but he has 50 goals. Out of three chances, he’ll score two. That’s a fact, and anyone who plays against him is afraid.
“Today, nobody is afraid to play against Manchester United. They know United are taking beating after beating. Ronaldo arrived at a time when Manchester was building and they said: “Get on with it”, and he scored 25 goals. And then he left. There’s something wrong.”
The 35-year-old is now enjoying life away from football after his retirement in 2019 following a spell with Adana Demirspor.
He left Manchester United for good in 2015 on a free transfer to Internacional after initially being bought by Manchester United for €31.5m from Porto in 2007.
During his time with the Old Trafford side, Anderson only made 181 appearances, scored nine goals and assisted another 20.
