Uruguayan professional footballer Facundo Pellistri breaks silence and explains why he left Manchester United for the Greek club Panathinaikos

Man United moved Facundo Pellistri in the summer, and he went to play for Panathinaikos in Greece.

Winger Facundo Pellistri of Panathinaikos has said that he had already chosen to leave Manchester United before coming back for the start of pre-season training.

The 22-year-old came back to Carrington a lot later than most of his friends did. He had been playing for Uruguay in the Copa America over the summer break.

During preseason, he didn’t do anything for the team. His first game of the summer was as a late replacement in the August 10 Community Shield loss to Manchester City. He had to play right back in a pinch, and he got in the way of Bernardo Silva’s run, which let City tie the game and send it to penalties.

It was only Pellistri’s 25th game for United, almost four years after he moved there from Penarol. Even though he played a lot at Old Trafford, he was sent out on loan three times, including in the second half of last season.

Pellistri had already decided to leave United for good in search of more first-team chances after his last game, which was in the FA Cup third round against Wigan Athletic in January. He signed with Panathinaikos earlier this month for €6 million (£5.1 million), plus an extra €2 million (£1.7 million).

According to ESPN Deportes, Pellistri said, “I had made the choice a little before I went back to training.” “At my age, I knew that playing would be best for my future. I also knew that I could play in Manchester, but it would be harder.”

“So, I wasn’t going to get the minutes I wanted in a year, so we went to find other options.”

“Every choice I thought about was from Europe.” There was no offer from South America, but that didn’t mean I didn’t consider going back to play football in South America.

United added a buy-back option that lasts for three years to the deal that sent Pellistri to Greece. If he ever leaves Panathinaikos, they will also get 45% of any sales made after that.