Sir Alex Ferguson was eager to sign the player ahead of Arsenal.

Sir Alex Ferguson convinced to one player to come to Manchester United instead joining his boyhood club Arsenal.

During his 27-year years as United manager, Ferguson established himself as arguably the greatest of all time after taking the club to a host of trophies including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues.

Therefore, due to the wealth of success, many players were lured to the Red Devils as they could not pass up a chance to play under the Scottish manager.

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Former United player Andreas Pereira was no exception, the Brazilian was close to moving to Arsenal, a club which he supported as a kid, but then Ferguson intervened.

Speaking on The American Dream podcast, he said: “It was really special. I was speaking with my dad and my head was on Arsenal, I wanted to go to Arsenal.

“I was a fan and I liked the way they played football. It was at the time that Wilshere was getting his first games and I got a shirt from Wilshere and I loved this shirt.

“It came out that United were interested and I was always a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, and my Dad said ok let’s go and see how it is over there. In my head, I was going to visit and my head was in Arsenal, but Sir Alex Ferguson came and said it was nice to meet me, and I was in shock.”

 

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Pereira continued: “But it wasn’t just me, it was my Father, I never see him in shock with anyone and he didn’t know what to do or to say hi.

“He said to me ‘I always have a place for a Brazilian in my team, I saw you in the Nike Cup.’ And when he said that I was like ‘I’m staying here, I don’t care about Arsenal, I love Ronaldo, I love Rooney, I love everyone.”

However, Pereira only made his first team debut in 2014, under Louis van Gaal.

After making 75 appearances for the Red Devils, Pereira was sold to Fulham in a deal worth a reported £10 million plus performance-related add-ons.

For Fulham, he has established himself as a regular starter, making 85 appearances and scoring five goals.