ANDREAS PEREIRA has described leaving Manchester United as “the best decision I ever made”.
The midfielder left United for Fulham in 2022 and has since made his way into the Brazil squad.
Reflecting on his move to Fulham in an interview with the Evening Standard he said: “I think it was the best decision I made in my life.
“To come to live and play here, to enjoy my football, to get back into the national team with great players, to enjoy my football in the Premier League, leaving is the best decision I made.
“The time I was there, I really enjoyed being at a fantastic club. But I don’t regret leaving. We [the players in my situation] have this desire to show it was wrong that we didn’t play.”
Before joining Fulham in July 2022, Pereira had spent 11 years at Man Utd having come through the club’s academy.
Pereira, 28, made 75 appearances for the Red Devils, with the majority of his minutes coming from the bench.
In his two seasons at Fulham, he has already made more appearances for Fulham, 75, than he did in his 11 years in his time at United.
Last season he appeared in 37 of Fulham’s 38 Premier League games.
The midfielder registered three goals and seven assists during those games.
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Pereira also issued a rallying cry ahead of next season for The Cottagers.
He said: “I’m 100 per cent sure Fulham are under-rated.
ERIK TEN HAG appears to be safe as Man Utd manager, but the Dutchman edged dangerously close to the sack.
Here are nine managers Red Devils chiefs are reported to have considered for the job and what allegedly happened with each.
Gareth Southgate
Enjoys plenty of support among Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos chiefs but made clear he wouldn’t talk to any clubs until after Euro 2024. There is yet to be any suggestion that contact was made with the England boss.
Kieran McKenna
Talks were opened with McKenna’s representatives before the FA Cup final, but the former Man Utd coach opted to sign a new deal with Ipswich after Ten Hag’s Wembley win.
Roberto De Zerbi
Allegedly sounded out before the FA Cup final with salary expectations discussed. But Ineos chiefs concluded ex-Brighton boss was not the right fit for the project.
Thomas Frank
Brentford boss met Man Utd representatives the day before the FA Cup final. The Dane also dined with Ratcliffe, Roy Hodgson and Frank Lampard at the launch of a new Ineos car in February.
Marco Silva
Fulham boss reportedly met Man Utd representatives face-to-face two days before the FA Cup final, around the same time as Ten Hag was conducting his press conference.
Mauricio Pochettino
Fell out of Man Utd’s thinking in the first week of June, despite being a favourite of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Thomas Tuchel
Made a very strong impression and came across well during a Monaco meeting. Personal terms were discussed before the ex-Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss decided to step back from the process.
Ruben Amorim
Sporting boss was discussed by the Man Utd hierarchy but did not make the final reckoning.
Roberto Martinez
Portugal manager was considered in the early stages.
“It’s because, in the past, maybe Fulham always went up and down. Now, people are getting used to the different image of Fulham that Marco [Silva] has created. For sure, we are under-rated. If you look at last season, we played good football, beat the big teams and can compete with them. That’s shown how far we’ve come.
“You can dream about Europe, we should dream of Europe. With the quality we have in the squad and the manager, we should aim for that — at least. It’s a good thing to start the season thinking about this kind of objective.”
This season will represent Fulham’s third successive one in the top flight – despite having a reputation of being a yo-yo club.
They finished 13th last season, after finishing 10th the previous year.
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