Andreas Pereira can understand why people in England do not rate the quality of football in South America. “At the time I had the same feeling,” the Fulham midfielder says as he discusses joining Flamengo on loan when he realised it was time to leave Manchester United in the summer of 2021. “I was not thinking about going back to Brazil. A few clubs in Europe were interested but I was not sure about them. That’s when my dad told me one of the most important things.”
Pereira’s father, Marcos, is a former professional footballer and he could see that his son needed a change of scenery. There was too much competition in attacking midfield at United. Pereira had tried. The Brazil international joined United in 2011, lured away from PSV Eindhoven by Sir Alex Ferguson, and was the owner of some fond Old Trafford memories by the time Fulham bought him last summer.
