Manchester United summer addition Matheus Cunha, who signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers early in the window, recently stunned defender-turned-pundit Rio Ferdinand with how many world languages he’s been able to learn throughout his career.
Cunha, 26, became Ruben Amorim’s first signing of the summer after a disappointing season last time out; the Portuguese tactician is looking for players that can carry the weight of the United badge – and the fleet-footed Brazilian is exactly that.
Looking to help the Red Devils return to where they belong at the pinnacle of the Premier League, Cunha’s route to Old Trafford has been an unorthodox one at that – and, as a result, he’s managed to pick up a handful of languages, something that shocked Ferdinand.
Rio Ferdinand Shocked by Cunha’s Multi-Language Skills
rio ferdinand man utd
Undoubtedly one of the best players in the Premier League right now, Cunha began his career in Brazil before moving to Swiss side FC Sion in the summer of 2017. Stints at RB Leipzig, Hertha Berlin and Atletico Madrid followed before Molineux became his home.
As someone who spent the entire career in England, Ferdinand – widely regarded as one of the best defenders in Premier League history – does not possess much linguistic genius, and he was, therefore, pretty impressed when 26-year-old Cunha revealed how many languages he is able to speak.
Matheus Cunha
Matheus Cunha
The 46-year-old, formerly of TNT Sports, uploaded a new round-up vlog from his visit to the club’s pre-season tour in the United States – and he managed to get time to speaking to Cunha. “Someone told me you speak different languages?” he asked before adding: “How many languages [do] you speak?”
To Ferdinand’s shock, the 15-cap Brazil international admitted to being fluent in a quintet of languages – Portuguese, French, Italian, German and English.
“Five languages! Because when I was 18, I went straight to Switzerland. And I didn’t speak English at the time, so I decided that I needed to start speaking a local language – and then I started speaking French. And manager was Italian.”
Upon moving to Switzerland, Cunha learned German, French, and Italian – all of which maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the federal administration of the Swiss Confederation. Moving to Wolves meant he learned English, while Portuguese is his native language.
“Then I started to speak Italian and Switzerland [there are different languages and it] is Italian, French and German.”
Footballers being able to speak more than just their native language is commonplace, of course, given how often players move abroad. In fact, Romelu Lukaku is recognised as one of the smartest players in football history by virtue of the Belgian striker knowing how to speak nine different languages.