Man Utd star Anderson could’ve been "best in world" without McDonald’s obsession

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Former Manchester United midfielder Anderson would impulsively yell "McDonald's, McDonald's" when passing the restaurant on the motorway, according to former team-mate Rafael da Silva.

The Brazilian duo, who played together at Old Trafford between 2008 and 2015, won four and three Premier League titles respectively under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.

While Rafael went on to enjoy a spell with Lyon in France before joining Istanbul Basaksehir, Anderson failed to settle and played for Internacional, Coritiba and Adana Demirspor before retiring.

In a joint autobiography with his twin brother Fabio, the right-back has given his honest verdict on Anderson, and hinted at why he failed to reach his potential for club and country.

"We could be on the team coach and pass the services on the motorway and Anderson would jump up impulsively and yell 'McDonald's, McDonald's'," he is quoted as writing by the Mirror.

"The guy was crazy, but I love him. Give him a football and he would just play with freedom and sometimes, if he got a good run of games, he could play as well as any player in the league.

"He picked up a lot of big injuries and then his problems with eating the way he did started to affect him.

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"It was no coincidence that his best form came when he had a lot of games because that was when he couldn't eat so much.

"I will say something about Anderson – if he had been a professional football player, he could have been the best in the world.

"I'm saying this was all seriousness. I don't know if he ever took anything seriously. He just loved life in such an easy and casual way."

Anderson is currently assistant youth manager at his former club Adana Demirspor, and watched on as the first-team gained promotion into Super Lig as champions last season.

Adana's president Murat Sancak said at the time of his retirement: "Anderson has decided to quit football, reduced his salary by 400,000 euros and will continue to work at the club.

"I think it is very useful in foreign affairs."

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