Former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay has joined Brazilian team Corinthians – and attributed his move as one inspired by his religious belief.
The 30-year-old Dutchman has signed a two-year deal with the club after leaving Atletico Madrid in a deal reportedly worth $12.5million.
He posted: “My first day in Brazil confirmed to me that God wanted me to be here for a lot of reasons.”
The post on X has prompted various reactions from followers and fans, most of which say his statement had more to do with the country’s tourist attractions than actual football.
Corinthians is a Brazilian professional sports club based in São Paulo, a city which statistically on average receives 11.3million visitors per year.
Memphis played for Manchester United from 2015-2017 where he made 32 appearances scoring only two goals. Louis van Gaal who was manager at the time of his acquisition said that he was “forced” into signing him early, due to interest from Paris Saint-Germain.
At his request following the exit of winger Ángel Di María, Memphis was given the revered and iconic No.7 shirt – previously worn by some of United’s best players, such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He delved into music after leaving Manchester United with his first record being a Los Angeles-inspired freestyle, “LA Vibes”. In September 2020, he released a song titled “2 Corinthians 5:7”, a foresight into the future maybe.
Corinthians travel to Botafogo in the Brazilian Série A, while his former team Manchester United positioned 14th on the Premier League log travels to Southampton in the lunchtime kickoff as club football returns following the international break.
Aerial view of Old Trafford. Picture: Pexels
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