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Andreas Pereira has revealed how the struggles of Juan Mata prompted him to change his game, and propelled him into the Manchester United first team.
In an interview with PL Brasil, the 28-year-old related how his career has been defined by the shifting demands of the number 10 role.
After loan spells at Granada and Valencia, the Belgian-born Brazilian returned to Old Trafford in 2018.
After Jose Mourinho was sacked, Pereira’s stock began to rise under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, and the Norwegian started to hand him a key creative role in his side.
Pereira said: “When he arrived, [Solksjaer] told me that I had to be more intense, that there was no way for a traditional 10 to play without defending, just standing there waiting for the ball to arrive.
“It was difficult, so I started to realise and change.”
Juan Mata was already established in the attacking midfielder role at United, where he shared creative responsibilities with the likes of Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba.
And his experience and expertise was key in shaping Pereira’s own game. He said: “Mata played that position at Manchester when I was coming up, and we always talked about it.
“Since he was a traditional 10, he said that it was getting harder and harder for him to play, and that I needed to be different.”
Pereira flattered to deceive for much of his time at Old Trafford – the so-called ‘pre-season Pele’ certainly had ability, and teased fans with some tremendous goals.
But ultimately, he fell short of the quality required to play such a key role at United, and was loaned to Lazio and Flamengo before departing on a permanent transfer to Fulham in 2022.
He has flourished at Craven Cottage, where he scored three goals and assisted nine last season and remains an important part of Marco Silva’s setup.