He fell out of favour at Manchester United following the departure of manager Alex Ferguson in 2013, and spent the second half of the 2013–14 season at Fiorentina before returning to Brazil with Internacional in January 2015.

[4][5] Anderson earned himself iconic status by scoring the goal that lifted Grêmio back into Série A in a promotion playoff against Náutico in November 2005.

[9] Anderson made his league debut for Porto on 5 March 2006, playing a part in helping the team seal the 2005–06 Primeira Liga title.

[11] Anderson, however, was forced to miss five months of the season due to a broken leg, as a result of a tackle by Benfica midfielder Kostas Katsouranis.

Manchester United subsequently argued that only his youth had prevented him from acquiring more caps and that, given his exceptional talent and the size of the transfer fee, clearance was justified.

[20] On 1 September 2007, Anderson made his competitive debut for United against Sunderland, before he was substituted at half-time and replaced by striker Louis Saha, who eventually scored the game winner.

[21] Anderson made his Champions League debut against Sporting Clube de Portugal in a 0–1 away win on 19 September, coming on as a substitute for Ryan Giggs in the 76th minute.

[27] On 18 May, in the penultimate game of the season against Arsenal, United only needed one point to seal their third successive Premier League title and Anderson's second in two years at the club.

Anderson was brought on for Wayne Rooney in the final minute, helping United lift the title at home to their fierce rivals.

After United were awarded a free kick on the right side of the penalty area, Anderson stepped up and curled the ball into the far top corner of the goal with his left foot.

[30] In January 2010, Anderson was believed to have returned home to Brazil without manager Sir Alex Ferguson's permission and fined £80,000 by Manchester United.

[33] On 20 August 2010, Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that Anderson had returned to training after the combination of an injury and being involved in a serious car accident.

[37] Anderson doubled his United goal tally in one game as he scored twice in a 4–1 second leg semi-final home win over Schalke 04 in the Champions League.

Anderson made a surprise return earlier than expected on 31 December 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–2 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers.

Anderson returned in the 2012–13 season, setting an early highlight in the third round League Cup match against Newcastle United on 26 September in 2012, when he scored an excellent opener in a 2–1 victory.

[citation needed] He continued to impress when given the opportunity, and garnered praise for a substitute appearance in the 3–1 win over Queens Park Rangers at Old Trafford.

[47] On 19 May 2013, Anderson played the full 90 minutes in Sir Alex Ferguson's final match as Manchester United manager, a 5–5 draw with West Brom at The Hawthorns.

[56] In his second match, a 3–1 defeat to The Strongest in the Copa Libertadores on 17 February, Anderson was substituted after 36 minutes and required an oxygen mask due to La Paz's Estadio Hernando Siles being 3.68 km above sea level.

He then received threats and insults from the club's fans at training on the following Monday[60] and was dropped from Inter's starting line-up for their following ten league fixtures.

[66] When Brazil were in danger of going out of the tournament after their opening game defeat against Gambia, Anderson helped to turn their fortunes around in the next match against the Netherlands.

Anderson kept up his level of performance after that, scoring one goal and playing a key role in others, notably setting up Ramon for the first strike against Korea DPR in the quarter-final.

Anderson made his international debut for the Brazilian senior team on 27 June 2007 in their 2–0 loss against Mexico in the 2007 Copa América, coming on as a second-half substitute.

[70] Regarded as a talented and highly promising player in the media in his youth, Anderson later struggled to replicate his precocious performances as his career progressed, and has been accused by some pundits – including Marca's Fran Villalobos and The Guardian's Barney Ronay – of failing to live up to his potential.

[71][72] Keith Griffin of Bleacher Report remarked in 2008 that Anderson was "[o]ne of the most impressive young players to grace the Premier League this season," noting that the midfielder was gifted "with blinding pace, hulkish upper body strength, and vision."

He also cited that although Anderson was capable of creating chances for teammates, his biggest weaknesses were his shooting accuracy and lack of goals going forward, something which Ferguson had also previously noted.

Having emerged through the Gremio academy system as a tricky attacking midfielder, the comparisons were only natural and, prior to his injury in Portugal, the signs were promising.

[76][77] Anderson's former Manchester United teammate Michael Owen described the former as "very talented" and surmised that his failure to establish himself at the top level was due to his mentality and poor work-rate, combined with his injuries, health issues, and his struggle to operate in different positions, with Tighe noting that Anderson performed poorly when he was deployed in both a holding and a box-to-box role.