Anderson, who is still struggling to nail down a player in United’s team, has sung the praises of Sir Alex Ferguson. He claims that our manager is a father figure to all the players and takes a great interest in their lives.

“He’s a father to all the players, a very respected person, and when he retires the football world will really feel his loss,” Anderson told RTP. “He always helped me, and I have a great affection for him. He lives for training and always wants to know how his players and their families are.”

Anderson spent a season and a half at Porto before joining United and played 24 games for them. He has admitted in the future he would like to return to Portugal but he wouldn’t ever play for his former club’s rivals, Benfica.

“I would like to return to Porto one day, but I would never play for Benfica,” he said. “I’m sure of that. It’s not in my plans to play for Benfica, although I respect the club.”