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It’s been announced this week that Brazilian midfielder Fred is on his way to Manchester United from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of around £47m, making him Jose Mourinho’s first signing of the summer.
All set to star at the World Cup in Russia for Brazil, Fred is a highly touted talent – but will he succeed at Old Trafford? If he does, he’ll be considered much more of a hit signing than previous Brazilians have been for United. Here are 5 other Brazilians who once plied their trade for the Red Devils.
#1 Kleberson
A World Cup winner in 2002, Kleberson was signed by Manchester United in the summer of 2003, actually a year after his impressive performances in Japan and South Korea. Apparently, he didn’t want to leave Brazil until he could marry his then-16-year-old girlfriend.
A talented central midfielder, it was hoped that Kleberson would replace the outgoing Juan Sebastian Veron, but the move simply didn’t work out for the Brazilian star. He injured himself in just his second appearance in a United shirt and never looked truly settled, only making 12 Premier League appearances in his first season there.
By 2004/05 Kleberson was already viewed as a flop by the majority of fans, and after making just 8 Premier League appearances in that season he was swiftly offloaded to Turkish side Besiktas, losing United money in the process. He never quite lived up to the potential he showed in the World Cup and is usually considered one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s worst signings.
#2 Anderson
A box-to-box midfielder noted for his power and vision, Anderson was signed by United for a fee of around £20m from Porto in the summer of 2007. Just 19 at the time, Anderson was expected to be one for the future, as United’s squad was unbelievably strong at that point, so it came as a bit of a surprise when the Brazilian featured in 24 Premier League games in his first season.
His highest point was undoubtedly scoring in the penalty shoot-out in the Champions League final that season – United went on to defeat Chelsea when Nicolas Anelka missed his spot-kick, meaning Anderson won both the Premier League title and the Champions League in his first season at Old Trafford.
Unfortunately, that was about as good as it got for the Brazilian midfielder. Despite winning a further three Premier League titles during his spell at United – a spell that lasted 7 and a half years – he never truly established himself as a first-teamer at Old Trafford due to spells of bad form and injuries.
Once Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 his time was largely up, as he fell out of favour with both David Moyes and Louis van Gaal and moved to Brazilian side Internacional midway through 2014/15.
#3 Fabio
Signed by United alongside his twin brother Rafael, it was hoped by fans of the Red Devils that the Brazilian brothers would become as popular and successful as the Neville brothers had been at Old Trafford. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition for either twin.
A left-back by trade, Fabio made his first appearance for United in the summer of 2008 in a friendly, although he had to wait until the next season to actually break into their Premier League first team proper. From there he only made a handful of appearances over the next couple of seasons, although he did start in the 2011 Champions League final against Barcelona, a game United lost.
After rarely featuring in 2011/12 for United, Fabio moved on loan to QPR for the 2012/13 season where he played in 21 Premier League games. At this point though it became apparent that he simply wasn’t good enough to be a United star and shortly after his return he was sold to Cardiff City in January 2014 after a disastrous final appearance for United that saw him receive a red card in an FA Cup tie with Swansea.
#4 Rafael
Much more of a United success story than twin brother Fabio, Rafael arrived at United at the same time as his brother but was able to break into the first team squad a season before Fabio did, as he made 16 Premier League appearances in 2008/09 and was seen as the heir apparent to legend Gary Neville, who was beginning to slow down as his career reached its final point.
Over the course of the next couple of seasons, Rafael never quite embedded himself into the side as Neville had done, and gained a reputation for being somewhat reckless – largely earned due to his sending off in the 2010 Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich, an incident that some United fans felt cost them the tie.
Following this though he improved, and was a regular performer for the Red Devils until the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in 2012/13 when he appeared to have finally nailed down the right-back slot as his own. But when Ferguson retired, fluctuations in form and various injuries meant that he drifted in and out of the side until he was sold to Lyon in the summer of 2015.
#5 Andreas Pereira
The fact that Andreas Pereira – who has made a grand total of 13 appearances across all competitions for United since signing with them as a 15-year old in November 2011 – even makes this list should tell you that unlike some of their rivals, United and Brazilian players hardly go hand-in-hand.
The son of former professional player Marcos Antonio Pereira, the young Brazilian – who was also eligible to play for Belgium as he was actually born in Duffel – was voted as United’s under-21 Player of the Year back in 2014/15 – the same season that he made his first Premier League appearance for the Red Devils.
Since then though it’s been frustrating for him, as his playing time was restricted to just a handful of games in 2015/16 and since then he’s spent two seasons on loan in La Liga with Granada and most recently Valencia.
At Valencia, he made 24 La Liga appearances and scored 1 goal, but despite returning to Old Trafford this summer it’s doubtful the attacking midfielder will play much of a part in 2018/19. At 22 years old now, quite what the future holds for him is a mystery.
