Beast’ Negredo thought fans were booing him when he first arrived… as City travel to London by train for big day at Wembley

By Mark Ryan

Whenever Alvaro Negredo receives the ball on Sunday, Wembley will shake as thousands of adoring Manchester City fans chant his nickname, ‘Beast’.

But the first time they heard it, he and his family thought the crowd were booing the Spain striker.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch managers and players look ahead to the Capital One Cup final

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Big man: Spanish striker Negredo is commonly known among City fans as ‘the beast’

 

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Mix up: Negredo (second left) got confused with the beast chant and thought City fans were booing him

 

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Wembley-bound: The City team arrive at Stockport station for their trip to London to face Sunderland

Alvaro explains: ‘I wasn’t the only one who thought they were booing. A lot of people did. I’ve had a lot of people come over to England and they didn’t understand it, they thought the crowd was booing me, they thought the crowd hated me.’

The Spaniard and his team-mates made the trip down to London on Saturday afternoon from Stockport station, and it will be Negredo’s first, but perhaps not last, taste of a Wembley atmosphere.

At Christmas, his entire family came over to watch the Boxing Day 2-1 win over Liverpool, when Negredo scored the winner. But when the crowd chanted ‘Beast’ they thought the fans had turned on him.

‘My parents, my brothers, all the family came over at Christmas and heard the sound.

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Decisions to make: Aguero (left) may not be risked for the full 90 minutes, while Joe Hart (right) may be benched with Costel Pantilimon usually preferred in the cup competitions

 

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Nightmare: City won’t want a repeat of last season’s trip to Wembley, a 1-0 defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final

 

‘They were more surprised than upset but luckily my wife was sitting next to them  and she was able to explain it and set their minds at rest. She told them it was a good sound and then they were happy!

‘I like it because it means they like me as a player and it means  that I’m doing my job well.’

Negredo has become so attached to City and life in England that he is determind to put up with the Manchester weather to stay and win trophies with them.

He said: ‘I wouldn’t swap my life here for Spain now. I feel very comfortable here. I’m happy here and I want to stay here.’

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