Earlier this week, reports from the Brazilian media revealed that Fulham star Andreas Pereira has rejected playing for Belgium three times.
It was said that the Red Devils made a few attempts to convince him to represent the country where he was born, and one of the approaches was quite recent. He turned them down, saying he wants a new chance to play for Brazil.
Well, that was now confirmed by Pereira himself. The Fulham player gave Globo Esporte a long interview, and brought some details on why he’s not keen on playing for Belgium. According to him, even though he was not born in South America, his choice is all for the five time World Cup champions.
“They approached me at the start of the season and asked if I was willing to be called up by Belgium, they spoke to my manager too, and I’ve always made it clear that my dream is Brazil,” Andreas Pereira told Globo Esporte.
“My dream is to play for the Brazilian national team, nothing has changed and nothing will change. He told me to think about it, see how it goes, but to put aside a childhood dream just to play for a national team and not feel good about it? I’m Brazilian, my family is Brazilian, and playing for a national team just to say I played for the national team doesn’t make any sense.
“I’m grateful to Belgium for everything it’s done for me, I grew up there, but I’m Brazilian and my dream is to play for Brazil. I’ll fight until the last minute for that to happen.”
Brazil now have a new manager, Dorival Junior, and as reported by the local media, he this week had a personal meeting with Pereira to talk about his potential return to the squad. Now Globo Esporte asked the Fulham player whether he’s anxious for the next call up for the friendlies against England and Spain.
“Every player gets anxious. Of course I’m going to watch, waiting for an opportunity. But I’ll go out onto the pitch with a cool head and knowing what I have to do. On the day, I’ll watch and pray for this chance to fulfil my dream.”
