Ex-Brazil star Fred has gun pointed at his head as former World Cup star is caught up in terrifying armed robbery
FORMER Brazil striker Fred had a gun pointed at his head during a terrifying armed robbery in Rio de Janeiro.
The assailants took Neymar’s former team-mate’s car and mobile after holding him up in the Brazilian city’s famous Ipanema neighbourhood.
The drama occurred after Fred, who scored 18 goals in 39 appearances for his country, left the Maracana Stadium following Fluminense’s 1-0 league victory over São Paulo.
The 40-year-old, Fluminense’s current director of sports planning, had stayed on at the stadium for an informal meeting with players and other club officials following the win.
The drama happened in the early hours of Thursday morning as the retired footballer headed home.
He was uninjured despite the scare. There has not yet been any official comment from police and no arrests are thought to have taken place.
Fred, full name Frederico Chaves Guedes, is the second-highest goalscorer of Fluminense’s history, with 199 goals across all competitions.
He is also the second-highest goalscorer of Brazil’s top-flight Serie A league, with 159 goals.
His club sides included Atletico Mineiro, Cruzeiro and Lyon in France, where he helped the team win three consecutive Ligue 1 titles.
He made his debut for Brazil in 2005 and was selected for the 2006 World Cup.
The striker was one of the scapegoats for Brazil failing to win the 2014 tournament following a humiliating 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany.
In 2020 he completed a 370-mile charity bike ride from Belo Horizonte to Rio ahead of his second spell with Fluminense, where he would go on to cement his spot in the club’s history books by becoming their second all-time top goalscorer.
With the goal of raising money for charity, companies who sponsored Fred’s ride gave out food kits for each kilometre he rode.
The end result saw around 4,000 food baskets handed out.
Fred’s return unfortunately coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic, and he was greeted by empty streets for his morning arrival as he wore a mask and waved a Fluminense shirt after five days on his bike.
He retired from professional football in July last year.