Andreas Pereira says he left Manchester United to “feel loved” as he detailed how Sir Alex Ferguson lured him to Old Trafford from Erik ten Hag at PSV Eindhoven.
The 28-year-old left United in the summer of 2022 after a series of loan spells at Granada, Valencia, Lazio and Brazilian outfit Flamengo.
Pereira was unable to cement his place at United, so he decided to dodge talks with Ten Hag when the Dutchman arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax.
The Brazil international has proven his worth at Fulham under Marco Silva following a permanent transfer to London last summer.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast, Pereira said: “Leaving United, you’re like, ‘Am I really going to do this? Am I sure?’ In the end, you’re never 100 per cent sure, really. Sometimes you think stay and have another go. Other times, you have to leave.
“I wanted to play, after COVID, I wanted to play. I was going crazy, wanting to play in the Premier League. I wanted to show that I was good enough, I was very close to joining Everton and suddenly my father called me and said, ‘Andreas, you never played in Brazil, you’re Brazilian’.
“I was like, ‘Where do we go then?’ The president of Flamengo jokingly called my dad and said, ‘If he wants to come, he can come’.
“Everyone at United said, ‘You’re crazy, you’ll stay in Brazil, you’ll never come back to Europe’. Everyone in my family wanted me to come [to Brazil] but they were like, ‘No, what are you doing?’
“I wanted to play in Brazil and want to feel loved. I didn’t feel the love that I thought I should get. I wanted to feel loved by my own people, play close to my family and enjoy football.”
Fulham take on Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday. Hopefully, Pereira and co can shatter their title hopes after last week’s defeat to Crystal Palace at Anfield.
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