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New Manchester City star Fernandinho nearly became a goalkeeper before making himself one of Europe’s top midfielders.

The 28-year-old Brazilian, signed for £34million last month, is set to add more power to the deposed champions’ engine room.

But the former Shakhtar Donetsk star revealed he could have been playing between the sticks had it not been for his dad.

Speaking in August’s FourFourTwo ­magazine, he said: “When I was a child I was a great fan of the Brazilian keeper Taffarel.

“Because of him I wanted to be a goalkeeper too! But, thank God, my father did not let me and made sure I only played with my feet!”

Fernandinho also revealed he is about to start taking English lessons and has become a fan of British music.

He said: “I am going to start English classes to learn as quickly as possible, But right now I can communicate in Spanish without ­problems.

And asked whether he had heard of Oasis, he added: “I hadn’t before but after doing a bit of research I found out they were one of the best bands of the ’90s.”