Manchester Uniteda s former forward Tiago Bebe has said that he was shocked to learn that the English club were willing to pay a 9 million to Vitoria de Guimaraes for his services, but insists that his life in England is a thing of the past as he now hopes to shine for new club Cordoba.
The Portuguese-born player signed for the Primeira Liga side in 2010 from Estrela, but after just five weeks with the new club, it was reported that Uniteda s then manager Sir Alex Ferguson had signed a mystery player, and Tiago moved to Old Trafford.
The 24-year-old had a buyout clause of a 9 million with Guimaraes, and the Red Devils reportedly met that to bring the player to Manchester in a sheer gamble of a deal considering Ferguson had just met him the day before the contract was signed and had never seen him play.
a I had a contract with a termination clause of a 9m and after just two days there was a team that wanted to pay it. And I went to Manchester. I thought they were jokinga , Tiago said in an interview to Spanish daily Marca.
But the young lad was unable to make an impression at Manchester United and after a mere two appearances for the Premier League giants Tiago was sent out on a loan deal to Turkish side Besiktas and then spent time back in his homeland with Rio Ave and Pacos de Ferreira.
A brilliant spell of 12 goals in 27 appearances for the Pacenses impressed Spanish club Benfica into permanently signing the player for a 3 million in July last year. But once again failing to establish himself in a top club, he moved to La Liga rivals Cordoba for a season long loan earlier this month and insists that he is once again ready to give his all.
a I learned a lot from Ferguson. What went wrong? Well, I needed more experience to deal with that. My best football was with Pacos de Ferreiraa , the player was quoted as saying.
a There I began a new life. I played as much as I needed to, and I responded. Then I went to Benfica and saw that I was not going to have much room, and asked them to let me leave and came here.
a Ia m happy and eager to give everything in Cordoba today.
a In Manchester I was a child and I was alone. Ia ve grown now and am a better and a different person. Cordoba is a great chance to prove my worth and I think Ia ll do wella , Tiago added.