'Ronaldinho told me to join Man Utd!' - Kleberson recalls Old Trafford transfer

At a football academy in Philadelphia last week, there was great excitement among the young players when they got a video call from Quinton Fortune.

The former Manchester United midfielder was taking questions about his career and the aspiring professionals were in awe of the fact that the South African had once shared a dressing room with legends of the game such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane.

However, if they had wanted to know sooner what it was like to play alongside some of the game's greats, they should have asked their coach.

“I've told them before but when they hear it from someone like Quinton, they believe what I'm saying is actually true and that I played with these players too!” Kleberson tells Goal.  

The Brazilian always directs his students to YouTube to confirm his claims but the problem is his Old Trafford showreel isn’t very long.

Kleberson's tenacity, skill and flair saw him play an important role in his country's World Cup win in 2002 and his performances alongside Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo piqued the interest of Sir Alex Ferguson, who brought him to United the following year.

When he made the move, though, he thought he would be joined in Manchester by Ronaldinho, who was readying himself to leave Paris Saint-Germain.

“When we speak now, I always say, ‘You told me to go to United and then you went to Spain!' We were sat down in a room in France with his brother and we were talking about interest from United in both of us,” Kleberson recalls.

“He didn’t say he was definitely going but I was convinced he was, so I decided I was going to United.

"When I got back to Brazil after the Confederations Cup, I started watching English TV to help learn the language but then, Ronaldinho went to Barcelona!"

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Nonetheless, big things were expected of Kleberson, who was described by Ferguson as "one of the most progressive young players in Brazil".

Juan Sebastian Veron and David Beckham’s departures in the summer of 2003 only intensified the hype surrounding the new arrival, with some pundits even touting him as the long-term replacement for legendary captain Keane.

However, despite the hype, Kleberson says he never struggled with the sense of expectancy.

“I had played my first World Cup final when I was 23 years old and I didn't feel any pressure on the field," he points out. "I had been in a dressing room with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Cafu and Roberto Carlos. They made me feel like family, so I was always very positive and confident.

"But there's no doubt that joining United in that period was a big challenge for me. I didn’t feel the pressure of being the first Brazilian to play for the club but there was hype from everyone because I had won the World Cup the year before.

“It’s also hard to go there after a big name like Veron. I watched him a lot and he was very talented. Roy Keane too, he was a very big name in United.”

What about his relationship with Keane, then? The United captain was well known for his fiery temper and former team-mates have recalled how the Irishman would scream at Kleberson on the training pitch.

“He could definitely explode sometimes," the 40-year-old says, "but it was always for the good of his team-mates and his team. Sometimes he screamed at me but at that time I didn’t know much English, so I would just tell myself he was saying something good and kept going!

“Everybody knows his personality but when I was there, I didn’t have any difficult moments with him. He pushed me a lot. He would try and get me more engaged in the game and he taught me a lot about closing down opponents.

"Everyone thinks they know Keane and his personality but those close to him know he’s a nice guy and he really tried to help me.”

Keane wasn’t the only one who helped Kleberson at United; he also had a good relationship with Ferguson.

Kleberson may have only made 20 Premier League appearances during his two-year Old Trafford stint but he remains extremely grateful to the Scot for the way in which he helped him settle in England and overcome the language barrier.

“Our first conversation was so difficult, as I only spoke Portuguese when I arrived,” Kleberson admits. “But he always tried to teach me new words. Especially in the beginning he wanted to learn something in Portuguese and he was trying to teach me English.

"He would come over to me in the dressing room and say something simple like the days of the week. We had a very good relationship. Even if he didn’t pick me a lot, he gave me a lot of opportunity to be engaged with the team.”

Kleberson's only real problem was staying fit.

In his second appearance in a United shirt, he dislocated his shoulder and was ruled out until November. Irregular game time saw him struggle to adapt to the Premier League upon his return and competition for places meant he had to settle for a place on the bench.

He eventually left for Besiktas in 2005. Given the excitement which greeted his signing, he is, thus, regarded as one of United's biggest transfer flops.

But does he think that tag’s unfair?

“Yes, I think it is,” he argues. “Everyone knows how hard it is to move to a different country with a different style of play. I got a lot of injuries and it took a lot of time to get back to playing at a high level.

"I wasn’t getting selected because of the way injuries affected me, not because I wasn’t good enough. I tried to train harder to get back in the team and would play with the second team (Under-23s) to work on my fitness.

"But they had a lot of good players there at the time and it wasn’t easy to get a spot.”

Despite his struggles, Kleberson doesn’t regret his time at Old Trafford and has taken lessons learned from Ferguson, and his other favourite coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, into his coaching career, which he hopes will one day lead him back to the Premier League.

“I can’t say it hasn’t been a hard transition into coaching but it has been enjoyable," he explains. "I have great experience that means I can share a lot of good stuff with the kids and that’s very nice.

“My goal is to come back to the Premier League as a coach. I can’t say my experience there wasn’t good. It was tough but I learned a lot and I know if I got the opportunity to go back, things would be completely different.”