Ex-Man Utd Star Reveals Details of Proposed Bruno Fernandes Swap Deal

Fernandes arrived at United in deal worth £47m in January 2020. Andreas Pereira was rumoured to have been involved in talks over potential discount and Brazilian admits swap deal was discussed.

Fernandes joined Man Utd in 2020 / Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Andreas Pereira has revealed he nearly joined Sporting CP in the deal which took Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United in 2020.

United parted with a cool £47m to land Fernandes' signature in the winter transfer window but reports at the time suggested the Red Devils nearly negotiated themselves a discount by sending Pereira in the opposite direction.

Speaking to DAZN, Pereira has now confirmed he nearly moved in the opposite direction to Fernandes.

"It was at the time when I was included in the negotiation with Bruno Fernandes and there were negotiations with Sporting, but nothing came of it," Pereira said.

Pereira would leave United on loan six months after Fernandes arrived and was sold permanently to Fulham in the summer of 2022. Since then, he has dazzled alongside former Sporting midfielder Joao Palhinha.

"You don't even know what you were missing," Palhinha told Pereira in response to his revelation.

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"Two-nil, too easy!"

Andreas Pereira has his second of the day as Fulham go up 2-0! pic.twitter.com/OtomI8yHRW

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 14, 2024

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Pereira has dazzled for Fulham this season, racking up seven assists and three goals in the Premier League and vindicating his difficult decision to push for a move away from United.

"Leaving United, you're like, 'Am I really going to do this? Am I sure?' In the end, you're never 100% sure, really. Sometimes you think stay and have another go. Other times, you have to leave," Pereira told FIVE.

"I wanted to play, after COVID, I wanted to play. I was going crazy, wanting to play in the Premier League. I wanted to show that I was good enough, I was very close to joining Everton and suddenly my father called me and said, 'Andreas, you never played in Brazil, you're Brazilian'.

"I was like, 'Where do we go then?' The president of Flamengo jokingly called my dad and said, 'If he wants to come, he can come'.

"Everyone at United said, 'You're crazy, you'll stay in Brazil, you'll never come back to Europe'. Everyone in my family wanted me to come [to Brazil] but they were like, 'No, what are you doing?'

"I wanted to play in Brazil and want to feel loved. I didn't feel the love that I thought I should get. I wanted to feel loved by my own people, play close to my family and enjoy football."