‘I turned down Man Utd to go to uni – now I’m living my dream at the World Cup’ | Football | Sport

United States goalkeeper Matt Freese has revealed that he once turned down the chance to sign for Manchester United in order to prioritise his education. The Pennsylvania-born stopper made his senior debut for the USMNT only last year, yet now stands as his nation’s first-choice keeper at the World Cup.

The 27-year-old, who represents MLS outfit New York City, has been a reassuring presence between the posts throughout the tournament thus far. He has shipped just a single goal in straightforward wins over Paraguay and Australia. Under the guidance of former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, the US have made an impressive start on home turf and will advance to the knockout stages as Group D winners.

Freese’s career trajectory might have been vastly different during his time progressing through the Philadelphia Union academy after fielding a tempting offer from United.

Yet, with his parents eager for him to concentrate on his studies ahead of football, a switch to Old Trafford failed to come to fruition.

“It was largely a family decision,” Freese told Hudson River Blue. “There were some tough conversations between me and my parents about this one.

“There was a clear path that I wanted to go on, but I had to respect what they wanted. They sacrificed so much for me, so I had to repay that and honour what they wanted and then, when the time was right, make my decision for myself.”

Rather than heading across the Atlantic to join United, Freese enrolled at Harvard University, amongst the world’s most esteemed academic institutions.

He studied economics alongside developing his footballing abilities, turning out regularly for the Harvard Crimson football side.

Freese eventually left university a year early to sign for boyhood club Philadelphia Union as a homegrown player before the 2019 MLS campaign.

He made his professional debut just months later and admitted that the choice to put his studies on hold was straightforward.

“It was very clear to me that in order to have the career I wanted to have on the field and to achieve things that I wanted to achieve on the field, the earlier my career could start, the better,” he said.

“It was a pretty natural decision – everyone was on the same page.”

Freese, who continued his studies remotely and graduated with an economics degree from Harvard, found regular first-team opportunities limited behind Jamaican international Andre Blake and was traded to New York City in 2023.

The switch proved to be a turning point in Freese’s career, earning him the New York City Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the 2024 season, shortly followed by his maiden international call-up the following month.

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