Andreas Pereira has made the Brazil squad for the first time, with the Manchester United star revealing that he has left club colleague Romelu Lukaku frustrated with his snub of Belgium.
The 22-year-old was born in Duffel and represented the land of his birth at youth level up to U17.
He has, however, switched allegiance to the homeland of his father, with Brazil represented within their U20 and U23 set-ups.
Pereira is now in line for a senior debut with the Selecaco, having been called up for friendly dates with the United States and El Salvador.
He remains convinced that he has made the right international decision, despite Old Trafford team-mate Lukaku trying to talk him round to a different way of thinking.
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Pereira told Globo Esporte: “He tried to convince me.
“He spoke to me: ‘You have to play for Belgium’. He came to talk to me, he’s always talking to me.
“I told him ‘it’s difficult, Lukaku, can’t do it, it’s not the same. Playing for Belgium is something else. Playing for Selecao… It’s Brazil, I feel at home’.
“Then he said: ‘If that’s the way it is, you have to follow your heart’. And then he respected my decision.”
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Pereira saw his commitment to the Brazil cause tested over the summer when Tite’s team faced Belgium at the quarter-final stage of the 2018 World Cup – with the Red Devils running out 2-1 winners.
“It was complicated,” said a man who started the 2018-19 Premier League season inside Jose Mourinho’s starting XI at United.
“I was in Belgium watching and it was difficult to see Brazil lose. Everybody messing with me. Wow, it was… I was very angry.
“My friend, I have a friend from Belgium, I was watching with him. I couldn’t do it, I left the room, I was very… I got very mad.
“And they all messed, my father’s friends saying ‘wow, look at Brazil there, you have to choose Belgium, you have to choose Belgium’.
“I said, ‘wow, I can’t do it, I can’t do it’.”
