Anderson could have been world’s best for Manchester United but didn’t care, says Ben Foster

The Watford goalkeeper played with Anderson at Old Trafford and praised his abilities, but claims the Brazilian lacked the necessary mindset.

Foster made 181 appearances for United in all competitions, winning four Premier League titles and the Champions League, but he believes he might have done so much more if he had been bothered.

‘He might have been the best player in the world at one point, I guarantee you,’ Foster said of the Brazilian on the UTD Podcast. ‘Everyone believes he had the potential to be the best in the world at one point.

‘But he didn’t give a damn, he didn’t give a damn about anything.’ He didn’t give a damn about anything. But when you put him on a pitch, he’s exactly like that.

‘Carlos Tevez was in the same boat. Oh my gosh, put him on the pitch. ‘There’s got to be something in being South American,’ says the narrator.

Rafael and Fabio, two Brazilian twins who played with Anderson at Manchester United, mirrored Foster’s sentiments in their joint memoirs, The Sunshine Kids.

‘As for Anderson, if he had been a professional football player, he could have been the best in the world,’ Rafael wrote. ‘I’m implying that this was all serious.’ I’m not sure he’s ever taken anything seriously.

‘He just enjoyed life in such a relaxed and unpretentious manner.’ That was a quality in certain ways. It was because of this that he became one of the club’s most popular players. He, on the other hand, would eat whatever was put in front of him.’

Anderson departed Manchester United in 2015 and has since retired, with his last appearance being in 2020 for Turkish club Adana Demirspor.