"We sold the wrong midfielder", "I miss him everyday" - Manchester United fans react as former player stars for new club in European fixture
Fans online have reacted to former Manchester United midfielder Fred's excellent performance for Fenerbahce in the UEFA Europa Conference League against Nordsjaelland on September 21.
Manchester United saw a good number of players leave the club this summer at the request of manager Erik ten Hag, including some key players. A number of these players have enjoyed impressive starts to life in their new club, including midfielder Fred.
The Brazil international was made available for sale this summer following the arrival of Mason Mount from Chelsea. The 30-year-old was sold for around £8 million, despite arriving for over £40 million from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018. He joined Fenerbahce on a four-year deal despite interest from Premier League side Fulham.
The experienced midfielder has featured six times for Fenerbahce so far, recording two assists. Both of them came in his UEFA Europa Conference League debut for the club against Nordsjaelland. He helped Fenerbahce win 3-1 at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium on Thursday in their group-stage opener.
Manchester United fans have taken to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to react to his performance. Fred was not a fan favorite in his time at Old Trafford, but the club's poor start to the season has opened the eyes of the fans.
One fan tweeted:
"we sold the wrong midfielder"
Another wrote:
"I miss him everyday"
Here are some more reactions from Manchester United fans on Fred:
Other fans commented, saying that the club misses the Brazilian's quality in their squad at present.
Another fan praised the Brazilian for having displayed the right attitude throughout his time at the club.
Fred was a key player for Manchester United
Brazil international Fred joined Manchester United in 2018 and became one of the first names on the team sheet at Old Trafford. He featured 213 times for the Red Devils, recording 14 goals and 19 assists.
Fred was signed for the club by Jose Mourinho and went on to play under several managers at the club. He played 35 league games, the most of his United career, under Erik ten Hag in the 2022-23 season. He featured in all six games as the Red Devils ended their six-year trophy drought with the 2023 Carabao Cup.
This season, United have struggled domestically and in the UEFA Champions League. Much of this has been attributed to the fact that starting defensive midfielder Casemiro is aging and unable to exert himself as much.
The Red Devils have lost four of their six games across competitions this season and are far from where they want to be.
Fred, meanwhile, has enjoyed a great start to life in Turkey, where he feels valued as a player.