Fred, the midfielder with a megawatt smile, first flashed his famous grin in a Manchester United shirt five years ago this summer.
“This is the biggest club in the world and I am delighted to be a part of this amazing team.
“I cannot wait to get started and to meet my new team-mates.
“This is a very exciting time for me, with my focus now fully on the World Cup with Brazil.”
By the time this was published, Fred was indeed fully immersed in that tournament, Russia 2018, although his role was limited to that of unused substitute as his national team reached the quarter-finals before bowing out to Belgium.
Just prior to the announcement, a whirlwind visit to Carrington enabled the club's media team to capture photos and an exclusive arrival interview with Fred, in which he declared his intention “to make history by achieving great things together [with United].”
Looking back now, in an episode of UTD Podcast, the Brazilian talks about how his transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk came about, before the World Cup.
“Yes I remember, I was on vacation and my agent called me and said, 'I think you're going to Manchester United'”, recalled Fred.
“I couldn't believe it. It was a dream because I watched the games when I was a kid. [To think] 'I will play for Manchester United', it was so amazing.
“I was with my wife so I talked with her and said, 'maybe you come to England [with me], and I will play for United.' She was happy for me. I was so happy when I joined this club.”
Fred already had five years of European club experience under his belt, having moved to Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer of 2013, from Internacional in his native Brazil.
“When I started in Ukraine, my first year was a shock,” he admitted.
“There were a lot of differences. We had quality in Brazil, but we didn't have the high intensity, we didn't have to run a lot. When you come to Europe, you need to run, we need to train every day hard, we need to sacrifice everything so it’s different.”
In his first season with Shakhtar, Fred made his first visit to Old Trafford, when the Ukrainian club faced United in the group stage of the 2013/14 Champions League. Phil Jones scored the only goal as the Reds triumphed 1-0 and Fred admitted he was bowled over by the occasion.
“I played before against United with Shakhtar,”
he told UTD Podcast. “My first time here was so beautiful. I looked at Old Trafford like a big stadium. The fans, the symbol, everything.
“It was like a dream. I played against big players like Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney. And [five years] after that, I played for United! It was a dream, so now I am here, I am so blessed.”
Fred linked up with his team-mates for the first time on the Reds' summer 2018 tour.
“When I arrived [at the club], I was in the USA, it was pre-season,”
he told UTD Podcast hosts Helen Evans and Sam Homewood.
“I went to my room and looked at the symbol of Manchester United [on my training kit]. 'Oh, it’s real, I’m here, I am playing for Manchester United right now.'
“Andreas [Pereira], he was a nice guy who helped me a lot and I arrived with Joel [Pereira] as well. I didn't speak enough English, and they were my translators. They helped me a lot.”
The new episode of UTD Podcast, featuring Fred, is available now in the United App and on ManUtd.com.