From Big Clubs Fighting for Me to Fulfilling My Dream: Why Feyenoord Trumped Arsenal and Manchester United

For promising young players, the decision to make an early move can greatly influence the trajectory of their career. Some may discover the perfect fit at a young age with a new club, while others may choose to remain loyal to their childhood team and either flourish in familiar surroundings or harbor regrets about missed opportunities.

A former Feyenoord youngster has now reached that stage of his career where he is looking back at what could have been following early links to two of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

Luis Pedro opens up on turning down Arsenal and Man United

Back in the 2007/08 season, Luis Pedro was making waves with Feyenoord’s reserve team, breaking into the Netherlands U18s and U19s teams in the process.

The Angolan-born forward was the top scorer for Feyenoord’s reserve team that season and on the verge of breaking into the first team, as scouts from across Europe began to be alerted to his progress.

This included interest from both Arsenal and Manchester United, but the player himself dreamed of being a mainstay for Feyenoord.

“I used to be of interest to really big clubs,” Pedro told Feyenoord Pings.

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“Arsenal was concrete and Manchester United was concrete. I always wanted Feyenoord first. That was just the dream. When you are in the stadium, and you play those matches…. Feyenoord, for me, that’s just home. That’s the most beautiful feeling.”

Pedro would go on to make just ten first-team appearances for the Dutch side, before embarking on something of a journeyman career that included spells at Go Ahead Eagles, Heracles and Levski Sofia before he finally made it to England with Carlisle United in 2016, but would make only one 17-minutes appearance for the Cumbrian side.

Pedro is now 34 years old and without a club, with his comments going to show that he clearly wonders what would have happened if he had joined Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United or Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal sides 17 years ago.

But in FourFourTwo’s view it’s refreshing to see a player stay loyal to his home side and talk of the ‘beautiful feeling’ that this brings.