Fulham’s Andreas Pereira: ‘I got in the Brazil team mainly because of Mourinho’

A ndreas Pereira can understand why people in England do not rate the quality of football in South America. “At the time I had the same feeling,” the Fulham midfielder says as he discusses joining Flamengo on loan when he realised it was time to leave Manchester United in the summer of 2021. “I was not thinking about going back to Brazil. A few clubs in Europe were interested but I was not sure about them. That’s when my dad told me one of the most important things.”

Pereira’s father, Marcos, is a former professional footballer and he could see that his son needed a change of scenery. There was too much competition in attacking midfield at United. Pereira had tried. The Brazil international joined United in 2011, lured away from PSV Eindhoven by Sir Alex Ferguson, and was the owner of some fond Old Trafford memories by the time Fulham bought him last summer.

There was Ferguson telling Pereira that there was always room for a Brazilian in his team. There was Louis van Gaal giving him his debut in 2014. Tactical guidance from José Mourinho. Being in the starting lineup when Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s United knocked Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League in 2019.

But there was never continuity. These days Pereira can talk about Fulham, who are sixth before hosting Wolves on Friday night, handing him a chance to express himself in England – “to show who I really am,” the 27-year-old says. He is playing in his favoured No 10 position and has the trust of the manager, Marco Silva.

In August 2021, though, Pereira did not feel free. He had enjoyed loans at Granada, Valencia and Lazio but the next step felt out of reach.

“You play football to have fun,” Pereira says. “My dad said: ‘Andreas, you don’t have fun. You’re at one