Andreas Hugo Hoelgebaum Pereira (born 1 January 1996) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. Born in

Duffel Duffel () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Duffel proper. On 1 January 2020, Duffel had a total population of 17,664. The total area is 22.71 km² which gives a population dens ...

, Belgium, he began his youth career with nearby club

Lommel Lommel () is a municipality and a city in the Belgian province of Limburg. The Kempen city has about 34,000 inhabitants and is part of the electoral district and the judicial district Lommel Neerpelt. Besides residential town of Lommel also has ...

. At the age of nine, he joined Dutch club

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

, before signing for

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in November 2011. Pereira made his first Premier League appearance in March 2015. While at United, he spent time on loan at Spanish clubs

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, Italian club

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and Brazilian club

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

. He played youth international football for both the country of his birth, Belgium, and his father's homeland, Brazil, before making his senior international debut for Brazil in September 2018.

Club career

Manchester United

Early years

The son of former Brazilian professional footballer Marcos Pereira, Andreas Pereira was born in

, Belgium, while his father was a player there. He joined

in 2005, when he was nine years old. In 2011, after impressing at the

Manchester United Premier Cup The Manchester United Premier Cup is a global youth football tournament that was established by Nike in 1993. History The tournament was established by Nike in 1993 as the Nike Premier Cup and featured 624 teams from 15 European countries. T ...

, he became a target for several big English clubs, including

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, but a visit from

manager

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

in November 2011 convinced Pereira to sign for the

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

club. Due to regulations regarding international transfers, the move could not be completed until Pereira's 16th birthday on 1 January 2012, and further complications with international clearance meant that his Manchester United debut was delayed until April 2012. He made his debut for the under-18s in a league match away to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

on 25 April 2012, but heavy rain meant the match had to be abandoned as a goalless draw after 35 minutes. He made two more appearances that season as the under-18s finished eighth out of 10 teams in their

Premier Academy League The Premier Academy League (sometimes abbreviated as FAPAL) was the top level of youth football in England before it was to be replaced by a new league proposed by the Elite Player Performance Plan in 2012, which was accepted by the 72 member ...

group. After signing as an academy scholar in July 2012, Pereira became a regular in the under-18s in the 2012–13 season, making 20 appearances and scoring five goals. He also got his first taste of reserve team football during the season, coming on as a substitute for James Weir in a 3–1 win over

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

in the

Manchester Senior Cup The Manchester FA Senior Cup (originally known as the Manchester and District Challenge Cup, later the Manchester Cup) is an annual football tournament held between the clubs of the Manchester Football Association which was first played in 1885 ...

, followed by another substitute appearance against

in the semi-finals of the

Professional Development League The Professional Development League is a system of youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the The Football Association, Footbal ...

. In recognition of his performances, on 7 January 2013, shortly after his 17th birthday, Pereira received his first professional contract. Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Pereira was named as Manchester United's captain for their 2013 Milk Cup campaign, and was named Player of the Tournament for his three goals as Manchester United won the Premier Section. He went on to feature heavily for both the under-18s and the under-21s, and was ever present in the inaugural

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...

; he also scored twice in three appearances in the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

, including a curling, 25-yard effort against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

in the third round. For the under-21s, he appeared in 17 out of 21 league matches as Manchester United finished third; he then scored the only goal in the semi-final against Liverpool, only for the team to lose to Chelsea in the final.

2014–15 season

Pereira began the 2014–15 season with silverware as Manchester United beat

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

4–1 in the final of the Manchester Senior Cup on 7 August 2014. He made his senior debut three weeks later, coming on as a half-time substitute for

Saidy Janko Saidy Janko (born 22 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays for Swiss club BSC Young Boys. Although Janko primarily recognised as a right-back, he is equally capable of playing on the right wing. Born in Switzerland, he played inte ...

in a 4–0 away defeat to

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

in the second round of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. On 15 March 2015, Pereira made his

debut against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for

Juan Mata Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He mostly plays as a central attacking midfielder, but he can also play on the wing. A gr ...

in a 3–0 win for United. On 1 May, he signed a new contract with Manchester United until at least June 2018. Eighteen days later, Pereira was voted Manchester United's under-21 player of the year for 2014–15.

2015–16 season

On 21 July, Pereira scored his first goal for Manchester United's senior squad in the 3–1 win against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

in the 2015 International Champions Cup, after coming on as a second-half substitute. He made his first competitive start for the senior team on 23 September 2015, in the third round of the

, and scored a free kick in the eventual 3–0 win over

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

2016–17 season: Loan to Granada

On 26 August 2016, Pereira joined Spanish club

on a season-long loan deal. He made his debut in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

two days later, replacing Luís Martins in the 55th minute of a 5–1 loss at

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 22 August 1949, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at the ...

. Pereira scored his first goal for the ''Nazaríes'' on 3 December, opening a 2–1 home win over fellow

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

. On 6 February 2017, he netted the only goal of a win over Las Palmas at the

Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

, with a long-range strike. Eleven days later, he was again on the scoresheet for a 4–1 victory against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

at the same ground, but was sent off for a push; he was banned for two games and the club fined €180.

2017–18 season: Loan to Valencia

On 1 September 2017,

announced the arrival of Pereira to the club on a season-long loan deal. He made his debut in a 0–0 home draw against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

eight days later, and scored his only goal for ''Los Che'' on 15 October, with a long-range strike as a substitute to conclude a 6–3 win at

2018–19 season

On 2 March 2019, Pereira scored his first Premier League goal in a home match against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. The goal later earned him Manchester United's goal of the season for 2018-19 season. He also recorded an assist for Romelu Lukaku in the same match. On 7 March 2019, Pereira was featured in the starting lineup during the historic Champions League Round of 16 (2nd Leg) win vs PSG, where the team was able to come back from a 2-goal deficit they conceded at home and win on away goals at the

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

, a record that has never been broken before.

2019–20 season

On 5 July 2019, it was announced that Pereira had signed a new four-year contract with the option to extend by a further year. On 11 August 2019, he started in Manchester United's opening day 4–0 win against Chelsea, in which he assisted

Anthony Martial Anthony Jordan Martial (; born 5 December 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the France national team. After playing youth football for Les Ulis, Martial began his pr ...

for the second goal. He scored his first goal of the season two months later, on 10 November 2019, in a 3–1 home win against Brighton.

2020–21 season: Loan to Lazio

On 2 October 2020,

announced the arrival of Pereira to the club on a season-long loan. On 1 November 2020, He scored his first

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

goal in a 4-3 away win against

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

2021–22 season: Loan to Flamengo

On 20 August 2021, Pereira joined

on a one-year loan. The

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian club agreed to pay

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

1m for the loan. In the final of

Copa Libertadores 2021 The 2021 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 62nd edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Starting from this season, teams must ...

, he made a decisive mistake that caused Flamengo to lose against Palmeiras.

Fulham

On 11 July 2022,

announced the signing of Pereira on a four-year contract, for an undisclosed fee, understood to be worth £10m with add-ons. He made his debut for Fulham on 6 August, starting and playing 89 minutes in a 2–2 home draw against

International career

Born in Belgium to a Brazilian father and a mother of German descent, Pereira is eligible to represent either Belgium or Brazil at international level. He initially represented Belgium at under-15, under-16 and under-17 levels, but has since stated, "My heart is Brazilian." He received his first Brazil call-up in 2014, joining the under-20 team on their successful

Panda Cup The Panda Cup International Youth Football Tournament (Chinese: 熊猫杯国际青年足球邀请赛) is an annual international youth football tournament that is held in the city of Chengdu, China. The tournament was first announced in April 201 ...

campaign in China. At the

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

in New Zealand, Pereira equalised in the final against

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, but Brazil lost 2–1 after extra time. In total, he scored twice in seven appearances at under-20 level. Pereira made one appearance and scored one goal for Brazil at under-23 level, in a friendly against South Africa in March 2016. On 17 August 2018, he received his first senior call up for the friendly matches against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. He made his debut against El Salvador on 11 September, as the first player in over 100 years to play for Brazil having been born outside of the country.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Brazil U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

runner-up:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual * Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year: 2014–15 *

Goal of the Season: 2018–19 (vs. Southampton, 2 March 2019)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Andreas 1996 births Living people People from Duffel Belgian footballers People with acquired Brazilian citizenship Brazilian footballers Association football midfielders Manchester United F.C. players Granada CF footballers Valencia CF players S.S. Lazio players Fulham F.C. players CR Flamengo footballers Premier League players La Liga players Serie A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Belgium youth international footballers Brazil youth international footballers Brazil under-20 international footballers Brazil international footballers Brazilian people of German descent Belgian people of Brazilian descent Belgian people of German descent Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Belgian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Footballers from Antwerp Province