Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira has confirmed he has held talks with Palmeiras, but did not speak formally to Flamengo earlier this year.
[Jornal O Globo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FWVE-GAywY) have an interview with the Fulham midfielder today in which they discuss various topics with the Brazilian, including a potential return to his homeland.
Pereira has long been linked with a return to Brazilian football, with barely a week going by in which a club in the country are named as suitors for him.
Former club Flamengo are reportedly keen to bring him back after his previous successful spell at the club and reports earlier this year suggested that they had made a proposal. Fulham, though, did not want to lose him for the second half of the season.
And Pereira insists that no formal offer arrived for him, despite a belief that he’d be welcomed back by his old team.
“I think most of them know my quality, they know that I love the club, that I would do anything for the club and they know my quality mainly and they know what I can deliver on the field,” he said.
“I think they would welcome me, yes, with open arms and as I would like, as I said, if I returned to Brazil, to play for Flamengo.
“I didn’t have that formal contact with Flamengo, or with my agent, because I was also at the end of the season here, and I was focused on Fulham until the end of the season, and I also asked my agent not to give me too much information from outside, because that could end up hindering my performance here, you know?”
Flamengo are not the only side to have been linked with a move, with Palmeiras also reportedly keen on him ahead of the summer.
They want to bolster their squad for the Club World Cup and have reportedly targeted Pereira as one of the players to add in the special transfer window handed to sides ahead of that tournament.
Their interest came via President Leila Pereira, who is believed to have spoken to the Fulham man during an international break. Pereira confirms as much but insists he didn’t want to leave in the middle of the season.
“I have a lot of affection for everything she did for me,” he added.
“They told me to talk to the agent; they made the offer. Leila is someone I respect a lot. I was with her on the national team too, when she was with us. So, I really admire her work.
“I have a lot of affection for Flamengo too, and I was in the middle of the season at Fulham, and I wanted to finish the season, we were doing really well, and I was like, man, I want to finish the season here.
“Of course, yeah, I appreciate the affection that Palmeiras had, right, for making the offer but I said, no, I’m still going to stay at Fulham. I’m going to stay here, I have a contract here, I want to finish this season well. I don’t like to leave things behind in the middle of things. So, I said, I think I’ll move on now, I spoke to my agent.”