ANDREAS PEREIRA grew up loving Arsenal and dreaming of emulating Jack Wilshere.
And he was set to join the Gunners as a teenager with a deal virtually done.
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But then Sir Alex Ferguson stepped in and convinced him to give up on the Emirates to sign for Manchester United instead.
Pereira starred for Lommel United in Belgium as a little kid then switched to PSV Eindhoven aged nine.
He impressed at the Manchester United Premier Cup in 2011, alerting the likes of the Red Devils, Chelsea, Liverpool and his beloved Gunners.
And so aged 15, he visited England – even though it didn’t play out as he had initially intended after a meeting with legendary Old Trafford boss Fergie.
Pereira – who has earned around £16million in his career – told The American Dream podcast, co-hosted by Fulham defender: “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, ‘Okay 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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“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.'”
The Belgium-born one-cap Brazil international, now 27, completed the transfer to the United academy after his 16th birthday and progressed through the ranks.
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Ironically, though, Pereira did not make an appearance under Fergie, eventually making his senior debut when Louis van Gaal was in charge.
That came in a 4-0 League Cup hammering against MK Dons – the first of 75 games for United, in which he scored four goals including the club’s goal of the season in 2018-19.
Loans to Granada, Valencia, Lazio and Flamengo followed as Pereira struggled to nail down a first-team place for United.
And in 2022 he left the club after 11 years to join Fulham in a £13m transfer, shining as one of the Cottagers’ standout players in his debut season.
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