“I came pretty close to joining Everton: Fulham Star Explains Incident

Andreas Pereira has revealed that he was “very close” to signing for Everton in 2021 from Manchester United.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast on Tuesday (16 April), the 28-year-old Fulham player admitted that his father called him as he was about to sign with the Toffees to try to persuade him to join a Brazilian club.

The Brazilian international stated that Flamengo’s president joked with his father about his signing for the Rio de Janeiro-based club before the attacking midfielder decided to join the South American squad on loan.

“I wanted to play after COVID, I was going crazy,” Pereira remarked. “I was like, ‘I want to play in the Premier League’; I wanted to prove myself.

“I came extremely close to joining Everton. And then my father contacted me and said, ‘Andreas, you’ve never played in Brazil, and you’re Brazilian. ‘Yeah, but where do we go then?’ I said.

“The president of Flamengo contacted my father playfully and said, ‘If he wants to come, let him come’. I said, ‘Yeah, let’s go to Flamengo. Everyone responded, ‘No, you’re insane; you’ll never return to Europe.

 

Andreas Pereria would have added quality to Everton side

It’s a shame Everton were unable to complete a deal for Pereira three years ago because he would have contributed quality to their squad.

It appears that he was all set to join the Toffees until his father interfered and insisted he return to Brazil, with Flamengo winning the race to sign him.

After a successful stay in Rio de Janeiro, the offensive midfielder returned to Manchester United before Fulham decided to sign him and he hasn’t looked back since.

He’s put in a series of good performances for the Cottagers over the last few seasons, earning him a call up to the Brazil squad this year.

The Blues could definitely use a creative player like Pereira in their lineup right now, as they are struggling in front of goal in their quest to secure Premier League status.

In different Everton news, Pat Nevin has vented about a Toffees development, sharing a “ludicrous” Premier League admission.