Manchester City missed out on signing Fred and Jorginho because the duo did not think they would be first-team regulars under Pep Guardiola, reckons Ray Parlour.
Both players were linked with City before opting for Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.
“They’ve signed (Riyad) Mahrez in a record deal, who’s a nice option to have but he’s unlikely to start every week,” Parlour told bwin of City.
“I think that’s why Fred and Jorginho chose Manchester United and Chelsea in the end because they saw first-team opportunities much easier to come by rather than risk sitting on the bench at the Etihad Stadium.
Fred signed for Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth €15 million. He scored two goals on his competitive debut in the Ukrainian Super Cup, helping to a 3–1 victory over Chornomorets Odesa.
During the Ukrainian crisis, Fred was among the six Shakhtar players who refused to return to Donetsk in July 2014 following a pre-season friendly against Olympique Lyonnais in France.
On 21 February 2018, Fred scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16’s first leg with AS Roma. The match ended 2–1 for his team. On 5 June 2018, Premier League club Manchester United reached an agreement to sign Fred. He was officially introduced on the club’s website 16 days later. He agreed a five-year contract with the option to extend for a further year.
Due to the injury to Luiz Gustavo, Fred was called up to Brazil’s squad for the 2015 Copa América in Chile, starting in their final two Group C matches as they reached the quarter-finals. In May 2018, he was named in Tite’s final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
Fred tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide in a sample collected during the 2015 Copa América. On 14 December 2015, he received a one-year suspension from CONMEBOL, which was made effective worldwide by FIFA on 5 February 2016 and backdated to 27 June 2015. After he played the first half of the 2016–17 season, the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed a demand for a two-year suspension to as well be backdated to June 2015, which Fred began to serve in March 2017. As of July 2017, he was cleared by all organizations.
For Jorginho, he was born in Brazil, Jorginho moved to Italy at the age of 15, and began his professional career with the Verona youth team, before being promoted to the senior team. During the 2010–11 season, he was sent on loan to Sambonifacese. In January 2014, he moved to Napoli, where he immediately won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana.
On 18 January 2014, he joined Napoli in a co-ownership deal with Verona for four and a half years. On 12 February, he scored the last goal as Napoli overturned a 3–2 first-leg deficit to beat Roma and reach the 2014 Coppa Italia Final. In the final, on 3 May, Jorginho played the full 90 minutes as Napoli defeated Fiorentina 3–1.
In the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana in Doha on 22 December 2014, Jorginho entered the game against Juventus in the second half of extra time in place of Jonathan de Guzmán. He took Napoli’s first spot-kick in the penalty shootout, and although Gianluigi Buffon saved it, Napoli were eventually victorious. While initially struggling to get into manager Rafael Benítez’s lineup, Jorginho’s fortunes changed with the appointment of Maurizio Sarri who was key to his development. In 2017 Jorginho had a breakthrough season with Napoli and was integral to their Serie A title challenge