Declare Palistry. The transfer window was in overtime, the clock was ticking and they were panicking, watching the seconds slip by and hitting f5 over and over. He was in place of Facundo Pellistri anyway. This was after midnight, the deadline October 2020, and Manchester United Said had said that another signing was coming, keeping supporters – and them – on edge. An extension was requested but that too was expiring. All because he spelled his name wrong.
“I closed the paperwork, ‘done’,” recalls Pelistri, sitting in Deportivo Alavés’s canteen where he is on loan, teammates dining at another table. “But they came back: ‘No, no, the signatures don’t match.’ I signed the contract with my signature, but they said it should be the same as my national ID card – and I’ve had it since I was 10. I had to redo it: re-scan everything Do it, print it, sign it with the child’s signature – write my name neatly, originally – and send it back.
“We thought it was all done, but we didn’t get a reply nor an announcement. We’re watching. There’s no response. Absolutely not: They were busy checking everything. My Girlfriend United Instagram page But there was nothing. Eventually, at the border, she shouted: ‘Announced!’ We tossed papers in the air, started celebrating. And then, Anarchy: Message, Post. I had already signed with Pearol: If it weren’t for this, I would be an unemployed footballer.
The son of a pediatrician and an accountant, Pellistri grew up on the “wrong” side of a musical family—”the side that wasn’t as musically talented,” he says with a smile. His godfather Sebastián Tessera is the lead vocalist in La Vela Puerca, one of Uruguay’s biggest bands. “I will go to all the rehearsals, concerts. In fact, they are about to bring a new record and hopefully they will go back on tour. Mostly, however, he went to sports: tennis, basketball and above all football.
Pallistri tells stories of Uruguay crossing the waters to win the Copa America in 2011 and travel to the 2014 World Cup. A Pearol season-ticket holder by birth, he traveled by bus to Libertadores matches in Argentina and Brazil. Soon this was the one they were looking for. joined his club at the age of 11, he made his debut in August 2019 at the age of 17; A little over a year later he was following the path of the man who coached him.
“I was nine during the 2010 World Cup and what Diego Forlan did was incredible: he’s an idol, so when he came it was amazing,” Pallistri says. “He was in Europe and different. He did a lot of individual work, for specific positions, that really improved you. Practice, practice. He talked to us a lot, especially about space, positioning. He’s the only one with me.” About United.
“He went [Ole Gunnar] Solskjor’s companion. Solskjr called him and said: ‘We are interested in this boy, how is he? How does he train?’ Diego told me about the call and said it was an incredible club. I talked to him a lot. I was about to go to Lyon, France. I don’t know why it didn’t happen, but that was all it took once United came to the fore. I talked to Solskjor: he called to welcome me, talked to me about everything.
Pallistri was 18, about to cross the Atlantic, and also in the midst of the pandemic. Yet even if he still looks like a child, fresh face, eyes as wide as his smile, he doesn’t seem like it: there is a sharpness and intelligence about him, there is maturity. There is an awareness and patience that is also unusual, wisdom. It’s almost understandable when he describes a scenario in which he initially served as Edison Cavani’s host, as if he was veteran and not 33-years-old at the time.
“I was already in the bubble because South American, which meant that when I arrived in Manchester I could train sooner than Eddie. He had been there before me, but he had to be quarantined, so instead of him welcoming me, I was welcoming him.
“It was the first time I met him. He’s incredible. Everything you heard about him is true. He trains like someone, he’s a leader, he mentored me. We spent Christmas together.” And I talk to him all the time. My English is good: I went to a bilingual school. But it’s always a little embarrassing to speak English and you’re attracted to Spanish speakers. Eddie, David [de Gea], [Juan] Eye. [Paul] Pogba speaks Spanish, Eric Bailly.”
Loaned to Alavés in January 2021, Pallistri played 12 games, meeting and swapping shirts with Luis Suárez, the day his countryman reached 500 career goals – “Luis had a shirt for every half and I got the historical one,” he smiles. He then returned to Manchester for the pre-season before moving back to Alavés for this season, with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho cut short the opportunity, except the winger doesn’t see it that way. “I’m not thinking, ‘I have to play here tomorrow,’ so you don’t worry about signings,” he insists. “Actually, you like it because you train with players who level up, which helps you improve.
“I left Manchester feeling good about the pre-season: I scored in the derby, the seasons were good, I was getting used to. It’s hard to change because they’re a completely different league: Football in Spain More Close, more defensive. In England, it’s more open, more space, more one after the other. One diagonal ball and you’re in. But a player has to watch out for that, learn from everything.”
After a start in the first seven games in which Alavés once won, things seem to be coming into place: Pelistri began victories against Cádiz, Elche and Levante as they went five unbeaten and exited the relegation zone. It might not be enough to keep him there. “There’s a clause where if I don’t play a certain number of minutes, they can take me back [unliterally], and mathematically I cannot reach that even if I play every minute till January,” he explains.
Whenever he goes back, it will be under a different manager, after Solskjor was sacked last month. “I wrote to Ole,” Pelistri says. “He gave me the opportunity to play for United and always taught me. I thanked them and wished them all the best. Sadly, the rules in football result. The easiest thing to do is to sack a coach when things aren’t going well – it happens everywhere. Football is like this. It can be brutal.”
Pallistri says the biggest challenge is maintaining emotional balance. “Stop, sometimes get away from football. If not, things can get very tense. The worst thing happens hours before the game. Once you’re on the pitch, you don’t feel the pressure, not at the moment. Adrenaline means even kicks sometimes don’t hurt. And all the bad things are nothing compared to how cute the game is. You have to make sure that nothing comes in the way of enjoying it to share those moments with the fans. You should know that the bad times will pass.”
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And good times will come. So now what? “I’m trying to get used to improving in Europe. Then of course you’ll see what decisions you can make, where the route takes you. I have a five-year contract at United but I’m trying I don’t look forward to three years. Also, you can never feel like it’s too far. If I play for United, it’s a dream but it’s best not to dwell on that for now. It’s about feeling like you’re getting a little closer all the time.”