HEADING TO THE TOP

I’m a Man Utd wonderkid who Cristiano Ronaldo knew about.. when I arrived I thought ‘what am I doing here?’

MANCHESTER UNITED wonderkid Alvaro Fernandez has admitted being clueless when he first arrived in England - but he is now thriving out loan.

The 19-year-old arrived at Old Trafford with such pedigree that even Cristiano Ronaldo had heard of him.

Advertisement
Alvaro Fernandez is enjoying his time in the second-tier with PrestonCredit: Rex

He is tipped for big things, with the full-back now thriving on loan at Preston.

But the left-back has admitted that his 2020 move from Real Madrid to United left him many questions.

He told : "You come to a new country, to a new team. It's time to adapt. It's a bit crazy. 

"You think about playing for a year in the Under-18s, calm, adapting, the family away because it was a pandemic and I couldn't go home.

Advertisement

"I had several colleagues who helped me who were already there, especially [former United youth midfielder] Arnau Puigmal who is now at Almería, in the Spanish first division.

"When he went up to the Under-23s, he was there and with the Under-18s there were [Alejandro] Garnacho, Marc Jurado, Mateo Mejía... they helped me with English. 

"The first day I arrived, the coach gave a talk and I thought, 'what am I doing here?'"

The defender had such a good reputation at Real Madrid that even Ronaldo had been informed about him.

Advertisement

Most read in Football

30 YEARS OF SHIRT
Bobby Moore's lost 1966 World Cup shirt worth £1m tracked down to Wales
ED IN HANDS
Sheeran asked to LEAVE Sky Sports coverage after gatecrashing Amorim interview
SLY FOXES
Leicester stars party with 'Enzo I miss you' sign just hours after Chelsea loss
FAN ROW
Roy Keane says 'I'll wait for you in car park' in confrontation with Ipswich fan

FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS - BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS

Fernandez said of the 38-year-old: "[I got on] very well with him, he is very nice. With young people he is very top, very close. 

"On top of the fact that he spoke Spanish, he knew that I had been in Madrid. They had already told him about me."

Fernandez was voted United's best U23 player last season and was rewarded with a loan move to Preston.

Advertisement

He has made 27 appearances for the Championship side this season and insists the move is "what he wanted."

Advertisement
Topics
Advertisement
machibet777.com