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Former Manchester United coach Mick Clegg has revealed the frustrations that Sir Alex Ferguson had with former midfielder Anderson.
The Brazilian joined Manchester United from Porto in a deal worth £20 million back in 2007, off the back of winning the Golden Boy award in 2005. However, the midfielder failed to live up to his potential at the club.
Speaking to The Athletic, Clegg spoke about the time that Ferguson was so frustrated that he wanted to hit Anderson with a stick. He said:
"You could never find a nicer person [than Anderson] — he was popular with everyone — but he was a lazy bleeder. He always had his excuses. I used to have a stick and I said to Alex Ferguson very early on, ‘If he carries on, I’m going to hit him with my bleeding stick’."
“Fergie couldn’t believe it. ‘Don’t you dare. He cost me a lot of money. You can’t be hitting one of my players, are you mad?’. Then, six weeks later, Fergie came to find me. ‘Where’s that bloody stick?’, he said. ‘Give me that stick. I want to hit him’."
Anderson had a plethora of problems at Manchester United, with his work-rate and fitness being constant issues during his tenure. The midfielder made 181 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring only nine goals during that time.
"It’s hard to have too much sympathy for him" - Clegg on Anderson's problems at Manchester United
Clegg also pinpointed what he thought Anderson's main problems were during his time at Manchester United and proclaimed that the Brazilian could have been a great player at the club. He said:
"Anderson was more than capable of being an absolute stormer of a player. He just needed his head knocking. He didn’t keep fit. He chose not to put in the work, so it’s hard to have too much sympathy for him. He was a party animal."
The Brazilian left the Red Devils on loan to Fiorentina in 2014, before permanently departing the club for Internacional in 2015.
