Manchester United sold me without giving me a real chance - I want to show them it was a mistake
Man Utd will face a former player when they take on Fulham in the FA Cup fifth round today.
There will be extra incentive for one Fulham player when their side travels to face Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round later today. United are back in action when they host the London Club at Old Trafford, with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs.
United have beaten Fulham twice already this season, with a 1-0 home win on the opening day thanks to Joshua Zirkzee's first goal for the club and a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage courtesy of Lisandro Martinez's deflected effort. The FA Cup clash could be the toughest though, as Ruben Amorim is set to be without 10 senior players for the match.
United have also found it difficult to win matches at Old Trafford this season and former midfielder Andreas Pereira hopes he can pile more misery onto his former club and show them it was a mistake to ever sell him in the first place.
Andreas Pereira is eyeing revenge against Manchester United
Manchester United sold Andreas Pereira to Fulham back in 2022, in a deal worth roughly £10 million. The Brazilian midfielder had spent 11 years at the club in total, where he made 75 competitive appearances and scored four goals.
Pereira always showed flashes of brilliance during his time at the club and was dubbed 'the pre-season Pirlo' by some supporters, given his ability to shine in friendly matches but struggle when it mattered. The move to Craven Cottage has paid off for Pereira, he is an integral part of their team under Marco Silva and has 10 goals and 19 assists in 108 appearances for the club.
It is hard to tell if he would ever have made it at United even if given more of a chance but he is looking for an element of revenge on Sunday afternoon. “I don’t think I got my full chance to play and show my quality when I was there," he told Opta Analyst. "Fulham gave me that opportunity, they did everything for me, and I want to do everything for them. So, whenever I play at Old Trafford, I want to show that United made a mistake. We think about going far in the FA Cup. We know it’s going to be difficult, but it’s definitely something we dream of.”
Pereira started on Fulham's last visit to Old Trafford but only made a cameo from the bench when they lost at home to United back in January. He will hope to start again today and will drawing inspiration from United captain Bruno Fernandes if he does.
He added: “I enjoy creating opportunities for my teammates. It’s what I enjoy most on the pitch. I don’t really take notice of the numbers, but I always want to be in that kind of bracket of players. I don’t like to compare myself, but I want to be up there with the best. I always watch videos of players like Bruno and De Bruyne, to try and simulate what they are doing.
“I played with Bruno for a while and I always look at De Bruyne’s movement, how he gets into space to create chances, so I always watch these kinds of video clips.”