It certainly does not speak too well of Manchester United that, after five years at Old Trafford between 2018 and 2013, a man who joined under Jose Mourinho and departed under Erik ten Hag had to leave the Red Devils to achieve his dream of winning a league title.
Not that one of the club’s modern day cult heroes has any regrets about his half-decade in England’s north west, even if he has only one Carabao Cup winners’ medal to show for his time in Manchester United red.
A £47 million signing from Shakhtar Donetsk, the closest Fred came to getting his mitts on the coveted Premier League trophy was when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer guided the club to second place back in 2020/21, albeit 14 points adrift of Man City.
Manchester United sold Fred to Fenerbahce
“I played for Shakhtar Donetsk for five years. Afterwards, Manchester United made an offer,” Fred recalls, speaking to Fenerbahce’s social media channels. “And I did not even think of turning it down.
“It was a great pleasure to play for a world-class club in the English Premier League.”
The expectation was that, when Man United accepted Fenerbahce’s £13 million bid last summer, Fred would miss United more than United would miss him. That has not really turned out to be the case, however.
While Fenerbahce are still in the midst of an enthralling title battle – within touching distance of Istanbul neighbours Galatasaray heading into the season’s final stretch – Man United tripped over the first hurdle as City, Liverpool and Arsenal gallop towards the end zone, a three-horse race taking place without Erik ten Hag’s ramshackle team a rather insignificant dot on the horizon.
The Red Devils have also spent much of a dreadful campaign crying out for the kind of infectious intensity Fred would bring to the table, especially in a host of big games against big opposition.
Fred could still win the title at Fenerbahce
“After five years at Manchester United, Fenerbahce’s offer came,” Fred adds, the Turkish giants pulling up every tree to ensure that the Brazilian would accept their proposal.
“I asked a lot of people who lived in Istanbul about the city. Everyone said very good things. I came immediately without thinking too much. Fenerbahce is a very big player in Turkey and around the world. Istanbul is also a very big city.”
Fred, in 28 Fenerbahce appearances, has two goals and an impressive eight assists. Remarkably, he has only been on the losing side twice, his personal unbeaten run only snapping at the end of March. In fact, Fred’s galvanising impact has seen him compared to basketball legend Michael Jordan, who famously transformed the Chicago Bulls into the sport’s most dominant force.
“I have never seen anything like this in my life! Even Michael Jordan didn’t have that impact in Chicago!,” reporter Guntekin Onay writes for Hurriyet Spor Arena.
“(He makes them better) both in defence and attack.”
Fred’s midfield partner at Fenerbahce, meanwhile, has opened the door to a move that would take him in the other direction. HITC has reported Man United are keen on Ismael Yuksek, with a future at Old Trafford very much in the 25-year-old enforcer’s sights.
“The club I would like to go to in Europe is Manchester United,” Yuksek tells TRT Spor. “My childhood dream (is to play for them).”