I knew I had to leave Manchester United - I was dodging Erik ten Hag

Andreas Pereira would do well to avoid Erik ten Hag this weekend. The midfielder steered clear of the Manchester United boss when plotting his exit route in 2022, but will be at close quarters with the Reds chief as he returns to Old Trafford with Fulham this weekend.

In an alternative reality Pereira could have been lining up alongside good pal Marcus Rashford in an upwardly mobile United side this weekend. But instead of being the Reds' supply line, he was seeking to halt United's momentum.

Pereira spent a decade at Old Trafford but failed to establish himself as a first-team regular. He played more than 70 times for the Reds but had four loan spells away and has more than twice the number of starts in 18 months at Fulham than he managed at United.

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The midfielder, now 28, is a key part of Marco Silva's side and arrived back in Manchester yesterday when the two teams faced off in the Premier League. For Pereira it was a chance to showcase the talent no-one has questioned, while he might also have had a word or two with Ten Hag, a manager he knew from their time together at Dutch club PSV but one he avoided when seeking a United exit in 2022.

The Brazilian had made his mind up that the time was right to leave Old Trafford in search of regular football and he sealed a £10million move to Craven Cottage. His determination and desire, evident when he defied then United manager Jose Mourinho's wish to stay put and instead joined Valencia on loan in 2017, meant the playmaker knew his time in Manchester was up.

"I didn't speak