Matheus Cunha arrives with the usual broad smile, introduces himself to everyone for the interview, and starts to casually chat about football.
It takes a few minutes to start recording – you don’t want to interrupt his excitement when he starts a conversation. The big news on TV of Eberechi Eze’s impending move to Arsenal, his first few weeks at Manchester United, tactical challenges – all even before our crew press ‘record’. Cunha’s vibrant personality is the first impression you’ll get of him.
“I think outside the pitch I always try to be myself,” he tells Sky Sports. “Humble, funny guy. I try to speak to everyone, and respect everyone, and I’m always thinking of learning from everyone.
“But when I go to the pitch, I always know why I’m here. I always think back at all the hard things that built me to be this guy. These kinds of things cannot play against me, they need to play with me. I always try to manage the psychology. It’s not easy! But I always try.”
The energy and fire Cunha shows on the pitch helped to produce a good debut for Manchester United against Arsenal, when he produced four shots and four dribbles and was arguably their best player. Enough to excite fans and brush away concerns from some, whose eyebrows were raised when he signed due to his recent disciplinary record.
Last season, for Wolves, he missed out on five games across two different suspensions. The first, a two-game ban, after he was found to have acted in an “improper manner” following an altercation with a member of Ipswich staff after a match in December.
The same charge followed in March, earning another three matches on the sidelines after lashing out at defender Milos Kerkez three times in an FA Cup game with Bournemouth.
Cunha was sent off late into Wolves’ FA Cup exit at Bournemouth last season which resulted in a three-match ban
What does he think to people who say he has a temper? “Honestly, I don’t really care about it,” he replies. “I think every single thing I did in the game is out of love for the game.
“I’m very passionate to win games, to make my team and myself better to achieve things. I think inside of me I always believe in something more.
“And when I bring this to United now, it’s something that pushes me forward. Of course we can make mistakes, and I made some mistakes. I am sorry, I apologise for that. But it’s always with a good intention.
“I always try to do something good, and maybe pass a little bit (he means ‘to go overboard’). I never put myself in [positions to make people] question my character, because inside I know who I am.”
When asked if he is the type of player who likes to play on the edge, he is quick to respond: “Yes, honestly. Everyone talks about the pressure in this club, but I’ve always wanted to be here.
Watch free highlights from Man Utd’s narrow opening-day defeat to Arsenal last weekend
“Of course, I understand it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world. The pressure is big, but I always try to feel the pressure like a privilege. I always dreamed to come here, and then when I’m here, I can’t have this excuse of the pressure being too much, you know. It’s a privilege.”
We are at the reception of Manchester United’s renovated training ground. Right behind us sit replicas of some of the most important trophies the club has won – a club he watched back in Brazil when he was a kid.
“I try not to look around at the trophies”, he laughs. “I hope I can build my story here with these players.”
It has been a long path already for the 26-year-old. One of the difficulties he mentioned that helped shape his personality was leaving Brazil so early to become a professional footballer.
At the age of 18, after playing at the academy for Coritiba FC, he was scouted by Sion and moved to Switzerland to sign his first pro contract. Spells at RB Leipzig, Hertha Berlin and Atletico Madrid followed, until he joined Wolves in 2023.
Ruben Amorim insisted his Man Utd side were no longer ‘boring’ following last weekend’s performance against Arsenal
European football shaped him as a player, and he says it helped him develop more tactical awareness and invest in his physicality. As a kid, he played mostly as a No 10, but during his career he also had successful spells as a striker.
His versatility, alongside his goalscoring record, attracted Man Utd, and he seems pleased to play as one of Ruben Amorim’s No 10s.
“It’s something that Ruben, when he brought me here, chatted a lot about,” he reveals. “I think my perfect position to play is around the middle, a little bit between the midfield and the striker.
“So, a No 10, I think this is the position that is easier to understand, behind the forward, where you can create much more space. This is the position they brought me here for, it is somewhere I feel comfortable, and I hope I can bring some creativity to the team.”
During his period in Europe, he also worked on his language skills. Besides his native Portuguese, there is English, Spanish, French, as well as a little bit of German and Italian – five in total, because: “If you put my German and my Italian together, it counts as only one!”
They are of course important tools to communicate with team-mates and a respectable list of managers, including Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick and Diego Simeone.
He always speaks warmly about Gary O’Neil at Wolves and how he helped him to develop in different positions. Then there is Amorim, who played an important role in his move to Manchester.
Cunha scored 28 goals and provided 13 assists in 82 league games at Wolves
“Ruben is someone that helped me a lot to come here, explaining how my position would be, how I can bring him something that he wants,” he says. “I feel very adapted, very comfortable. He’s someone who always pushes me forward.
“I love having someone to push me a little bit more. We never fight, but we have, like, some conversations when I say something, and then they says ‘no, it’s this way’ and I understand and go forward!
“He’s someone who can push the players forward, and I think this is the best quality in a manager. Put players in positions and show everyone their qualities.”
After the interview, Matheus hangs around chatting again for a few good minutes. Bruno Fernandes shows up and joked with the new signing. He then stops to talk to more people in the training ground before leaving and turning his attention again to Fulham, this Sunday.
Smiling, joking, and looking comfortable on and off the pitch hoping to bring fire, energy and goals to this Manchester United.
Watch Fulham vs Man Utd from 4pm on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday, kick-off 4.30pm.
This news was originally published on this post .
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