He’s not my Bebe! Carlos Queiroz denies recommending Portuguese flop to Man United

Carlos Queiroz has dismissed claims that he recommended Bebe to Manchester United ahead of their ill-fated £7.5 million purchase of the attacker.

The former United assistant boss was said to have insisted that United sign Bebe in 2010 and Sir Alex Ferguson did so – without even bothering to watch the player in action.

Queiroz, who was Portugal boss at the time, has set the record straight in an interview with Four Four Two: “Bebe was not even part of our scouting files for the national team of Portugal. He didn’t exist in a system where nothing escaped us.

“So Bebe going to Man United took me by surprise.

“I called my coaches and asked them what was going on, why he didn’t exist. I knew nothing about him.”

At the time of his signing, it was believed that United paid the large sum of money for a player who was homeless! But these myths were later debunked and, only slightly less embarrassingly, United forked out that dosh for a player only five weeks after he signed for a team who put an inflated buy-out clause in his contract.

He made only two league appearances for the club before going out on a string of loan moves, eventually being sold to Benfica for a cut-price fee.