I played for Atletico and Internacional and then moved to Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk. My family supported me a lot and I'm very thankful for them.Collection: Thankful
When I was 10 I started playing for Atletico Mineiro and that was the start of my professional career.
My family have always supported me to develop my football.
For me, Manchester United means greatness.
To work with Jose Mourinho, who has won so many trophies in his time as a coach, is an opportunity not to be missed.
We are all friends here at United. But it is good to feel that everyone wants a spot in the starting XI.
I am the kind of guy who you'll always see smiling. My childhood was like this. I had a lot of fun. We had a bad environment, but we also learned how to cope with it.
Because I was called a flop ever since I got here, my only intention is to be part of Manchester United's history.
When people hear a footballer speaking, they can think about it and maybe even reconsider the prejudices they have.
When the fixture list is released, while you're on holiday, wherever it is in the world, it reminds you and it makes you hungry to play again.
In the Premier League it is difficult, the midfield is very congested; there is a lot of pressure and the game is very fast. So it's hard for you to spend a lot of time with the ball; you have to be very fast, you have to think long before the ball reaches you.
I don't say that there is a lot of difference between Fred from Shakhtar and Manchester, we are adapting. Here at United, I score a little more, I improved a lot. I think that is the main difference.
I always watched a lot of English football. It has always been really strong.
I used to watch United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, when Gilberto Silva used to play there.
I managed to do some classes in Ukraine but people there didn't really speak English. They spoke Russian so that's what I learned there.
My wife talks a lot with Fernandinho and Ederson's wives.
Fonseca allows me to play both offensively and defensively, and my main task is to change the direction of attacking moves.
I know that I have to run all the game and don't stop or I will be useless to the team.
I like Manchester. My family are here and they like it too.
Personally, I'm happy how I played in my first 'clasico' against Liverpool.
Passing is one of my main objectives in the game and when I make a lot of passes I'm happy.
Obviously I'm not happy when I miss the passes so I look to get that right. I work very hard on that.
I know my job is not to score goals, but when I'm scoring goals I'm very happy.
I don't think anyone likes to draw very much, we will always go in to win.
My body is my work tool, right?
I'm very grateful to all my family, especially my mum of course.
My mum left her job to allow me to pursue my dreams, coming along with me. But the person who really inspired me was my grandfather. He'll always have a very special place in my heart.
We can't choose who we play against.
There are many Brazilians standing out in the Premier League.
I really like Kante, I admire him, he's a guy who plays great football.
Son is another guy that I admire a lot.
When I got to Ukraine the league was strong.
Gilberto was a top midfielder who played for Arsenal. But he has a lot of respect for Manchester United, who are obviously a big club here in England. He praised the club a lot and, after he was granted the opportunity to speak to Jose Mourinho and other senior figures at United, we made the decision together for me to come here.
Gilberto is a top guy and his advice means a lot to me. He played in the same position as I do and he won the Premier League, so I look to him for inspiration, I listen to what he has to say and I take on board what he tells me.
I'm really happy to have got married and, thanks to Manchester United, I was able to get my whole family together with my wife on the day.
I feel really grateful to the Man United fans and whenever I'm on the pitch I'll aim to do my best for all the fans to get the win and make them happy.
It's a huge club with great history and it's a real honour to perform for United.
Manchester United is a huge club. When I was young, it was a name I used to hear and it was a name I used to see on computer games and I used to play with the team.
I'm looking to show the best of my abilities every day and to work to improve, and that means working to play well and put in good performances in the Premier League and with Manchester United to achieve great things and win titles.
I'm really happy to be working with Jose Mourinho. He's a great person and he's always keen to communicate with the squad and help people to be communicative regarding what they're to do on the pitch.
I was delighted to be called back into the Brazil squad. I think it was one of the most exciting moments of my life, just because of everything I had been through and it feeling like I had been given a second chance.
You will not build a team with 11 players.
We want to win the Europa League.
You need to start games strongly and finish them strongly.
It's an honour to grab the attention of great coaches in Europe, from Manchester and from our own national team.
I have already worked Dunga. He helped me at Internacional, making me a more defensive midfielder. But I can play as a first or second midfielder, like I do at Shakhtar.
The Ukrainian league isn't as strong as the Premier League.
I'm learning day by day.
It's been a bit of a difficult start for me at United because I have not been playing so much. I had a lot of games in Shakhtar, but it's a little bit different here.
It's normal, of course, a process of adaptation to a different league.