Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli has revealed that he was rejected four times by Man United when he came for trial with his father.
The Brazilian admitted he felt lost after he was rejected by the Red Devils, a club he dreamt of playing for while he was a kid in Brazil.
Martinelli did some trials with Manchester United between 2015 and 2017 and participated in training sessions with the Red Devils.
However, the Red Devils did not follow up on their initial interest, with Martinelli returning to Brazil, where he soon signed his first professional deal with Ituano
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Arsenal later signed him for £6m In 2019, bringing him to the Emirates.
“There was a project with Manchester United; I did some trials there. It didn’t work out, but I went four or five times there,” Martinelli said.
“Manchester United had some scouts in Brazil, and they saw me playing, they had a meeting with my father, and then it worked out.
“Then there was this time I met [Paul] Pogba, and Ibra [Zlatan Ibrahimovic] was another time, when I was already a little older, I think it was the third time I went. And that was a project for when I turned 18. If they really wanted to, I would move.
“We saw that… but when I arrived at 17, which was the last time I went to Manchester, I went back to Brazil, and they said they didn’t want me, so that was it, I would come home to practice.
“Since I was 13, I’ve had this project with Manchester; I’ve always had it in my head, ‘Hey, I’m going to Manchester, whatever, when I turn 18.’ Then when you reach this age, in the year you are 17, the guys say, “Hey, we don’t want it anymore.” I said, “Hey, what am I going to do now?’”
