Forgotten ex-Man Utd star who Alex Ferguson broke transfer rule for makes AFCON debut at 33
Former Manchester United flop Bebe has made his first outing at the Africa Cup of Nations, representing Cape Verde during their 2-1 win over Ghana.
The forward lasted 75 minutes of the contest before he was eventually replaced by Willy Semedo. Cape Verde's victory served as quite the shock, but a stoppage time winner from Garry Rodrigues means the team ranked 73rd in the world according to FIFA are now in the driving seat in their AFCON group.
Bebe, 33, failed to make the grade at Old Trafford following his arrival all those years ago in 2010, but has enjoyed a respectable career elsewhere since. Bebe's time at United may stir some regret in ex-manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who broke his own transfer rule to bring the forward to the club 14 years ago.
The legendary Scotsman always made sure to watch potential arrivals before making a move, but chose not to when he paid £7.4m to sign the forward, instead trusting the word of his then-assistant Carlos Queiroz. United persuaded Vitoria de Guimaraes to part ways with Bebe before he'd even kicked a ball for them, such was the Premier League side's desperation to get the deal done.
Benfica and Real Madrid were both rumoured to be interested in the unknown talent, but United swooped first. Ferguson has since discussed the transfer, explaining: “I know Real Madrid were hovering and so were Benfica. It was one of those decisions that had to be made quickly.
"Sometimes you have to go on instinct and sometimes you have to trust your staff as well. This was a first for me, but we rate our scouting department very highly and our scout in Portugal was adamant we needed to do something."
Bebe has himself admitted he could barely believe it when word got back to him regarding United's interest.
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