Manuel Fernandes shares secret that could have got Everton in trouble
Manuel Fernandes has admitted he trained with Everton despite not being their player and could have got them in big trouble, in an interview with Obstructed View.
The former Portugal international spent the second half of the 2006/07 season on loan at Goodison Park and was a fan favourite, but the move was never made permanent.
Fernandes has now revealed that he tried everything to get the move to happen, including training with David Moyes’ squad despite his loan officially being over and missing a big Champions League game with parent club Benfica.
“Actually, I will be honest, people inside Everton know this, but I actually spent a week training with Everton, when I shouldn’t have been there,” he said. “I was a Benfica player, I was not on loan at Everton anymore, and the club could have got in big trouble.
“Benfica had a Champions League qualifier coming up, the manager at the time, Fernando Santos, he did not want me to leave, and he wanted me to play in that game. David Moyes called me, and he told me ‘If you play in this game for Benfica, I won’t be able to register you with UEFA. You are going to be important for us in Europe’.
“So, I missed the game, I didn’t go. It was a big issue, and Benfica were not happy at all. I was clear that I wanted to go back to Everton though, so I had to force the issue.
“I went back over to Everton, and I was training with the squad, even though I was a Benfica player. We had to keep it secret, because obviously that wasn’t allowed. They even closed off the training ground, so that nobody would find out I was there. I was there right up until the end of August, waiting for them to sort out the situation.”
What if?
It was always strange when Fernandes didn’t rock up at Everton the following season, instead signing for La Liga side Valencia that summer.
But it seems the issue was everyone’s but his because he did everything he could to try and force a move and return to the Toffees to no avail.
The fact the club were willing to break rules and allow him to train with the side despite him being under contract with another club shows that they obviously wanted it to happen too, so it’s still very strange it never happened.
He did eventually return for a second loan spell in 2008 but by then the moment had passed and he wasn’t the player that the team needed or fans wanted in that midfield role.
Still though, he’ll always have that special goal against Manchester United to be remembered for and that first spell with the club, however brief, is always going to be fondly remembered.
In other Everton news, this journo has shared if Everton ace could lose international place with relegation and speculates transfer.