Anderson lifts the lid on his transfer away from Man United

Anderson has insisted that his injury problems were the main reason behind his transfer away from Manchester United this month.

The Brazilian sealed a move back to his native homeland this week as he joined Internacional after eight years at Old Trafford.

Anderson helped United win the Champions League and Premier League during his spell with the Red Devils but fell out of favour during recent seasons.

And the midfielder says that his injury troubles were the main cause for his lack of playing time at Old Trafford.

“I played for eight years for Manchester,” Anderson told Sky Sports.

“I would like to thank the club. In my first four years I won everything there – Champions League, Premier League and the Fifa Club World Cup.

“I had a knee injury and returned to play again too fast. I played but the knees were not equal and I got myself injured again.”

Asked about the weight issues which affected the latter years of his Old Trafford career, he replied: “Do you think I’m not fit? A player will always be criticised. I had injuries in the past, but I have to be quiet right now and answer in the field.

“It will be a pleasure play for a club such as Internacional. I want to be happy as I was at other clubs. I’m coming back to Porto Alegre because Inter went after me. The president gave me attention. I was training [at United] but not playing.”

Anderson joined the Red Devils from Porto in 2007 and helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s men win the Champions League in his first season at Old Trafford.

Formerly with Gremio, Anderson heads back to his home town of Porto Alegre. His last appearance for Manchester United was the Under-21s’ 2-1 victory over Liverpool last Monday.