FRED HAS REVEALED that he had an offer from Manchester City before being lured to Manchester United by the presence of Jose Mourinho.
The Brazil international midfielder found himself at the centre of a transfer tussle before and during the summer window.
Pep Guardiola had identified him as a top target in January, but no deal was done.
Instead, the 25-year-old ended up making a £52 million (€60 million) move to Old Trafford, with Mourinho proving to be the decisive factor in negotiations.
“That’s true, I received an offer from them [City] and even talked to my Brazilian team-mates who play for our neighbours,” Fred told FourFourTwo.
“They were trying to convince me to join them, but in the end it didn’t happen.
“Then it was the summer and, as I said, there were other offers, including from United. I quickly decided that was the right move for me.
Mourinho is a top, top professional and every player likes to work with such a winner. I’m learning things from him, that’s for sure. He can be quite strict, but that’s part of his job.
“He’s also friendly and funny off the pitch, and jokes with us in the dressing room. Jose was crucial in my decision to join Manchester United and I’m grateful for his interest in my football.”
Fred has endured a baptism of firm in English football, with United’s early struggles in 2018-19 making life difficult for all concerned.
He has, however, taken in 10 appearances to date and opened his goal account for the club — with an effort registered against Wolves seeing him become the 500th player to find the target for the Red Devils.
The hope is that there will be many more to come, with United having rediscovered their spark of late to record three successive victories across all competitions.
Fred was not involved in the most recent of those, as he was an unused substitute in a 2-1 Champions League win over Juventus, but could be drafted into the fold next time out.
He will be desperate to come back into Mourinho’s plans, with a derby date at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday set to present himself with a chance to show City what they missed out on.
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You’d think he’d have more on his mind with the state his Monaco side is at the moment.
This is the reason Ronaldo has won his last 3, people have started conflating team success with the best player in the world. They should be kept separate, your reward for team success is your medal and a trophy for the team.
@William Boland: Your right to a point but look at Real now. Maybe he won those awards because he made his team so successful. At the moment that’s looks to be the case
@MarkSul: I wouldn’t say that. They could win the CL, and still can this year, because they had a good team, but their league form shows that the squad was not that good, similar to last year’s Liverpool squad.
@MarkSul: ya I was thinking that maybe because Ronaldo is so demanding of everybody (i.e moany) around him that the Madrid players raised their games while he was around. Then naturally when hes gone they’ve all subconsciously eased off a little. That on top of losing a guaranteed 30+ goals a season would explain their recent slump
Not Griezzman
No fear of it being a Monaco player anyway
Is he being serious
Handball Henry is full of shit.
I’d say stick to the commentary or management but he’s crap at both