Bebe: I thought Manchester United move was ‘a joke’

Bebe: Signed for £7.4m in 2010

Bebe: Signed for £7.4m in 2010

Former Manchester United winger Bebe has revealed he thought his “crazy” move to Old Trafford in 2010 was “a joke”.

The 25-year-old Portuguese forward signed for United, after just a month at his club Vitoria de Guimares, for £7million.

Sir Alex Ferguson was believed to have only met Bebe a day before he signed and never saw him play, signing the then 20-year-old on the recommendation of assistant Carlos Queiroz via agent Jorge Mendes.

Speaking to Spanish daily AS, Bebe, now with La Liga side Rayo Vallecano on loan from Benfica, has admitted his shock at how the deal transpired.

“It was very fast, a surprise,” Bebe said. “One day I was training and was suddenly told to go, I would sign a five-year contract. I didn’t know if it was a joke.

“It was the dream of many children, it seems crazy. When I arrived I was there with the best in the world. It took me a while, taking deep breaths the first week, but I got used to it.”

Bebe made just seven appearances for United in 2010-11 and scored twice, but he did not start a game in the Premier League and he had ignominy of being a substitute who was substituted. He replaced Owen Hargreaves after just 10 minutes of United’s 2-1 league win over Wolves in November 2010, but was later subbed himself on 75 minutes after an anonymous 65 minutes.

And that he made just two more appearances for the club – in a 4-0 defeat by West Ham, in which he was subbed again – and a 1-0 FA Cup win over Crawley.

He left for Besiktas on loan in the summer of 2011 and after a series of other failed loans, he signed for Benfica in the summer of 2014.