Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos (born 5 March 1993), known as Fred (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club Fenerbahçe and the Brazil national team. Fred started his career at Brazilian club Internacional, where he won the Campeonato Gaúcho twice. In June 2013, he signed for Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, where he won three Ukrainian Premier League titles. In 2018, Fred signed for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, where he won an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

in 2023. Fred represented Brazil at under-20 and under-23 levels. He made his senior international debut in November 2014. He was part of Brazil's squad for the 2015 Copa América in Chile, starting in their first two Group C matches as they reached the quarter-finals. He was also named in Brazil's final squads for the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s, and the 2021 Copa América.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, Fred spent six years of his childhood at local club Atlético Mineiro, before joining

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

in 2009. One year later, he joined Internacional. He initially represented the club at various youth levels and helped them win six titles in 2010, including the Copa Santiago and Copa FGF. He made his professional debut aged 18 on 26 January 2012, against Cerâmica in the Campeonato Gaúcho. He scored his first goal in professional football on 18 July 2012, in a Série A game against his former club Atlético Mineiro. Overall, he scored eight goals in 55 appearances for Internacional and won the Campeonato Gaúcho twice.

Shakhtar Donetsk

On 26 June 2013, 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 Shakhtar to a 3–1 victory over Chornomorets Odesa. During the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, 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. A few days later, he returned to Ukraine after the club relocated training sessions to Kyiv. On 21 February 2018, Fred scored a free-kick, his first goal in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, in a 2–1 round of 16 first-leg victory against AS Roma. With Shakhtar, Fred won 10 trophies, including three Ukrainian Premier League titles.

Manchester United

2018–2019: Transfer and first matches

On 5 June 2018,

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

reached an agreement to sign Fred for a reported fee of £47 million. He agreed a five-year contract with the option to extend for a further year. Fred formed a midfield partnership with Scott McTominay which came to be dubbed the 'McFred' partnership by the media and football fans. On 11 August, he made his club debut in a 2–1 victory over Leicester City in their first league game of the season. Fred scored his first goal for United against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 22 September 2018, in a 1–1 league draw at home.

2019–2021

On 7 December 2019, Fred was allegedly racially abused by Manchester City fans during the Manchester derby. On 27 February 2020, Fred scored two goals and assisted another in United's

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

round of 32 match against Club Brugge, which they won 5–0 and 6–1 on aggregate. On 2 February 2021, Fred played a full 90 minutes in Manchester United's Premier League record-equalling 9–0 home win against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. On 11 April 2021, Fred scored the equalising goal in the 57th minute in Manchester United's Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur, in which the Red Devils won 3–1, after Spurs's Son Heung-min scored in the 40th minute of the match.

2021–2022

On the opening matchday of the 2021–22 Premier League, Fred scored Manchester United's fifth goal in a 5–1 win over Leeds United, with an assist from Paul Pogba. He then scored an own goal in a 1–1 draw against

by deflecting a Ché Adams shot. On 5 December 2021, he scored the winning goal for Manchester United in their 1–0 win against Crystal Palace. Fred scored this goal outside the box with his weaker right foot, in Ralf Rangnick's first match as Manchester United manager. On 20 February 2022, Fred scored the third goal in Manchester United's 4–2 win over Leeds United.

2022–2023

On 20 December 2022, Fred's contract with the club was extended until 2024. Under manager Erik ten Hag, Fred was often described as being in the best form of his career. On 23 February 2023, he scored the first goal for the Manchester United side in a 2–1 win against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in the second leg of the Europa League knockout round play-offs. On 26 February, he won the 2022–23 EFL Cup with Manchester United. On 12 August, Fred announced his departure after five years at the club.

Fenerbahçe

2023–2024

On 13 August 2023, Turkish

side Fenerbahçe announced the signing of Fred on a four-year contract for a fee of €9.74 million. On 21 August 2023, he made his debut with the team in an away game against Samsunspor in the Süper Lig. Fenerbahçe won 2–0 and he was selected as man of the match in a supporters' vote. On 17 March 2024, he scored his first goals with the team and made double against Trabzonspor on an away game, Fenerbahçe won 2–3.

2024–2025

On 25 August 2024, he scored his first goal in the season against Çaykur Rizespor on an away match after receiving an injury on Champions League third qualifier round match with FC Lugano, scoring 3 goals thus achieving his first hattrick in his career. On 3 November 2024, he scored an opening goal against Trabzonspor at another away game, Fenerbahçe won 2–3 again.

International career

Fred played three times for the Brazil under-20 team at the 2013 South American Youth Football Championship. He played two games for the under-23 team in November 2015, both of which were against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He made his debut for the Brazil national team on 12 November 2014, as a substitute in a 4–0 victory over

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in Istanbul. Due to an injury to Luiz Gustavo, Fred was called up to Brazil's squad for the 2015 Copa América in Chile, starting in their first two Group C matches as they reached the quarter-finals. He was initially selected in the Brazil under-23 squad for the 2016 Olympic Games. However, he was not released to play in the tournament by Shakhtar Donetsk and was replaced in the squad by Walace. In May 2018, he was named in Tite's final 23-man squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia, but failed to make an appearance at the tournament. In June 2021, he was included in Brazil's squad for the 2021 Copa América on home soil. On 7 November 2022, Fred was named in the squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Doping case

Fred tested positive for the banned diuretic

hydrochlorothiazide Hydrochlorothiazide, sold under the brand name Hydrodiuril among others, is a diuretic medication used to treat hypertension and swelling due to fluid build-up. Other uses include treating diabetes insipidus and renal tubular acidosis and t ...

in a sample collected during the 2015 Copa América. In July 2015, he released a statement claiming he was innocent, while awaiting the results of a second sample. Shakhtar Donetsk were cleared by

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

to select him at the start of the 2015–16 season, after a complaint by Fenerbahçe over his appearance in a Champions League third qualifying round game. On 15 December 2015, he received a one-year suspension from

CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...

, preventing him from playing in any CONMEBOL sanctioned games, but allowing him to continue playing for Shakhtar. On 5 February 2016,

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

extended the ban to cover all football worldwide for one year, backdated to 27 June 2015. In March 2016, the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

(WADA) appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the ban, believing it to be potentially lenient. In March 2017, after Fred had returned from the suspension, an agreement was reached with WADA before the CAS hearing that resulted in him being unable to play football until July 2017.

Style of play

Fred is celebrated for his defensive presence as well as his playmaking ability.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Internacional * Campeonato Gaúcho:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Shakhtar Donetsk * Ukrainian Premier League: 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18 * Ukrainian Cup: 2017–18 * Ukrainian Super Cup:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Manchester United *

: 2022–23 Individual *PFA Community Champion Award: 2022–23

References

External links

Profile
at the Fenerbahçe S.K. website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fred 1993 births Living people Footballers from Belo Horizonte Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders SC Internacional players FC Shakhtar Donetsk players Manchester United F.C. players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Ukrainian Premier League players Premier League players Süper Lig players Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazil men's international footballers 2015 Copa América players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2021 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Doping cases in association football Brazilian sportspeople in doping cases 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen Afro-Brazilian sportspeople