Ex-Man Utd star ignored Ten Hag to force move as he 'wanted to feel loved'
Tom Weber
- Updated: 4 Nov 2023 12:24 GMT
- 3 min read
Former Manchester United player Andreas Pereira has revealed that he purposefully ignored Erik ten Hag to force his exit last year.
The attacking midfielder joined the Red Devils as a teenager but never managed to consistently nail down a regular place in the side. Last summer, he ultimately departed for Fulham where he has been given a new lease on life, making 50 appearances so far.
In fact, this season, he could already match the number of games he racked up in eight years at United. Speaking to ESPN, the 27-year-old opened up on the good and the bad of his time at Old Trafford - and that he forced through his move to Craven Cottage because he wanted to join a club where he would "feel more loved."
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"I didn't speak with Ten Hag [when he arrived from Ajax]. I know him because I worked with him at PSV but I was determined in my head and maybe if I spoke with the manager again I would stay. In my head, I was thinking 'I need to go, I need to feel confident and play' and that's what I did."
"I wanted to feel more loved"
"At United," the former Belgium and Brazil youth international continued, "I had a lot of memories; good memories, bad memories. It's been 10 years at the club. I arrived when I was 16 so, you know, a young boy. It was an amazing ride but I got to the stage where I thought maybe it was best not to stay."
"I wanted to feel more loved and I wanted to play every game. What Fulham offered me and what Marco [Silva] offered me, it was the perfect opportunity. I'm feeling at home here and it's been great so far."
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"When I first came here they told me that every year in the Premier League they would go down. The main objective was to stay in the Premier League but I spoke with the manager and he told me what he wanted to achieve and the way he wanted to play. He was very ambitious and I really liked that."
