“Unfair…” – Ex-Man United midfielder tells fans to ‘protect’ one player

Former Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira believes that fans’ treatment of one player is ‘unfair.’

Pereira left Old Trafford in 2022, joining fellow Premier League club Fulham to secure more playing time and prove his doubters wrong.

Since leaving, the 28-year-old has made 79 appearances for the West London team, scoring eight goals and becoming a key part of their midfield.

While playing at United, Pereira struggled to live up to the expectations fans had for the young talent, who joined the youth academy in 2011 and became a regular starter for the under-18s.

And, speaking to Five, the Brazilian international shed light on how this pressure can impact a player and related it to the ongoing situation with former United captain Harry Maguire.

Pereira said: “I think Maguire has been, a little bit unfair the pressure on him. When he came in the first game I don’t think you remember against Chelsea, first game he started we win four-zero, he was unbelievable.

“This shows that it is the confidence. If you put confidence in him, he can be this player, and he’s shown it a lot of times, but people stay with the image and they always say ‘ah he’s doing a mistake or he will do a mistake’ and this doesn’t help him.

“I think the English fans and he’s like one of your own. It’s different as a foreign player, when I am in Brazil I am a Brazilian player, they protect a little bit more, so I would say they have to protect him a little bit more.”

After joining United in 2019 for a record-breaking £80million, the highest fee paid for a centre-back at the time, Maguire has been subject to significant scrutiny from fans.

Although he has had some questionable performances in his 203 appearances for United, he has recently enjoyed a resurgence at the club.

Maguire won the Premier League Player of the Month award in November and has been a key player throughout a season where Manchester United have been plagued with injuries in the centre-back position.