Sir Alex Ferguson said he had never seen Bebe play before signing him in 2010, and the Portuguese star said he wanted to leave Old Trafford right away.
Bebe, who used to play forward for Manchester United, said that leaving Old Trafford was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Sir Alex Ferguson made headlines when he famously signed the 20-year-old Portuguese star in 2010, just a few weeks after Vitoria, the club they paid £7.2 million to get him, had picked him up from a second-tier team.
Bebe would have a terrible time at Old Trafford. He went there after having played only six league games before. He only played in one more game for United as an adult, but he scored two goals: one against Wolves in the League Cup and one with his right foot in a 3-0 win over Bursaspor in the Champions League group stage.
His time at United was dragged out by a number of loans. Finally, in 2014, he was sold to Benfica, which Bebe said was one of the best moments of his life.
“It wasn’t that [I didn’t believe in myself], I just know what life is like and I think anyone would have the same thought as me,” Bebe told Goal in 2018.
“If you are playing in Portugal’s third or fourth division and all of a sudden one of the best teams in the world calls you, I think everyone would wonder if this is real.”
“I called my agent every day to ask him to get me out.” Things were not going well. You are not happy when you don’t play, even if you are at a great club, so why keep going?
I remember my lawyer calling me while I was on my way to a United youth team game to tell me I had been sold to Benfica. “That was the best time of my life.”
Bebe’s parents left him when he was a kid and he grew up in an orphanage. When he thinks about his job, he doesn’t think he can completely regret the move because it led to his big break.
“I can’t feel bad about something that kept my family and I fed and changed our lives.” Bebe went on, “United gave me everything.” “That’s where my whole life began.”
There are things I could buy now that I couldn’t before, like a car or a house. I could do things for my family and friends that they couldn’t… I’m not sorry about anything. It was a great choice for me and my agent.
“I would still be there if I had the same attitude back then that I do now.” I’d be on that kind of team. But my life was different from everyone else’s, and so were my views and thoughts.
“That didn’t help me at all, but I don’t feel bad about it.” Now that I’m older, I would tell my younger self to work out more, focus more, and be more responsible.The 34-year-old player finally found a long-term home with Rayo Vallecano in Madrid. He played for them twice on loan before moving officially in 2018. The player finally left the club this year, moving to second-tier side Racing de Ferrol for the 2024–25 season.
