Manchester United midfielder Fred insists that he has much to thank Shakhtar Donetsk for, after a 5 year stint in the Ukraine helped him to acclimatise to life in Europe and to secure a move to Manchester United.
The Brazilian joined United from the Ukrainian club this summer, but Fred initially joined Donetsk back in 2013 from Internacional. He was convinced to move there by the amount of Brazilians in the Shakhtar squad.
“Internacional didn't want to let me go but there were a lot of Brazilians at Shakhtar. They used to tell me the club was great and it was growing a lot so I decided to take this step and I was very happy there,” he told United’s official website.
”In the beginning there will always be an adaptation process. To move from Brazilian football to Europe is really different. I managed to score these two goals in my first game but then I didn't play for a while.
“It was hard to adapt to the cold and very different but I did adapt. I was really happy during my five years at Shakhtar and I have a lot to thank them for.”
