Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Fernando happy he joined Manchester City despite United interest

Fernando is convinced he joined the right Manchester club.

The Brazilian midfielder signed for Manchester City for 12 million pounds in the summer -- but only after he was scouted extensively by Manchester United during David Moyes' reign.

Premier League champions City are certain to go into Sunday's meeting at the Etihad Stadium ahead of Louis van Gaal's team, and Fernando said: "We know that United are going through a difficult time recently but that can happen to any team. They have good players.

"I'm happy I'm on this side of Manchester. We are doing very well in the Premier League and I hope we can carry on for a long time doing as well as we have been."

United spent 152 million pounds on six new signings in the summer and Fernando added: "We know the quality they have, the new players they have bought and the challenges we will have to face when we play against them."

The 26-year-old has already faced United in a Champions League quarterfinal in 2009, with those performance leading to his nickname "the Octopus."

He explained: "I received that nickname while I was a player at Porto. It was during a game against United. I tackled [Wayne] Rooney and [Cristiano] Ronaldo a lot. The fans saw what I was doing and the fans gave me that nickname."

Fernando has started City's last two games and is aiming to retain his place for Saturday's game at West Ham as he looks to nail down a regular spot in Manuel Pellegrini's side.

He added: "I know that's not easy because we have a lot of good players in the squad, but I'm here to make my contribution to the team, so hopefully I will carry on playing.

"When I used to play for Porto, I played in every game, every competition. When I came to City I knew it wouldn't be the same, with so many good players. I know I won't play every single week but I will train as much as I can and hope I will get the call for as many games as I can be."

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