Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira has revealed how a short chat with Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson instantly convinced him to join the club.
The Brazilian has been speaking to Het Niuewsblad in Belgium in a wide-ranging Q&A, which meant the subject of Manchester United was naturally brought up.
Pereira spent several years at Old Trafford after arriving from PSV’s U17 to join their U18 side in 2012 and working his way up the various ranks to the first team in 2015.
He spent a chunk of his time at Old Trafford out on loan, first joining Granada, then Valencia, Lazio and finally Flamengo before then joining Fulham on a permanent basis in 2022.
His time at the club naturally saw him working under Sir Alex Ferguson, albeit behind the scenes, with the midfielder never managing to make an appearance under him and instead breaking through under his successors.
“With Ferguson? Isn’t it special when you sit in the same room with him for the first time?” he said.
“During the tour – at that moment I thought I wouldn’t like Ferguson at all – at the club we arrived in the dining room and there he was.
“The scout from the club who accompanied us introduced us to each other. Sir Alex, this is Andreas. Yes, yes, said Ferguson. I know him well. He looked at me and said: Hello Andreas, there will always be a place in our team for a Brazilian.
“I immediately wanted to stay there. I would have signed anything. So funny that my father told me not to be too enthusiastic, because of course there were still negotiations to be done. We can still laugh about it afterwards, what a moment.”
