Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker Douglas Costa was once the subject of interest from Manchester United, according to Gremio Under-17 coach Luiz Garbado Junior.
Ex-United boss Sir Alex Ferguson asked Gremio about the availability of Costa and wanted to take the youngster on trial at Old Trafford in 2009.
However, Gremio president Fabio Koff rejected the advances prior to Costa"s switch to Shakhtar, according to Garbado.
He told ESPN: ‘In 2009, Manchester United wanted to take him after the success of Anderson, but it never ended up coming [to fruition].
‘Many other clubs wanted to take him, because Gremio were involved in many tournaments around Europe. We played in Holland and that"s when a lot of scouts started to monitor him."