Brazil’s World Cup-bound Fred set to swap Shakhtar Donetsk for Manchester United as fans and former teammates have their say

There are good reasons why Fred, who could make his World Cup debut against Switzerland, has gone under the radar, as Brazilian journalist Alex Sabino points out. “Nobody really remembered Fred until a few weeks before the World Cup squad announcement. He could have established his name earlier in the selecao, but was suspended for a year because of doping. Then Shakhtar Donetsk did not allow him to play in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”

Born in Brazil’s third biggest city of Belo Horizonte, Fred’s youth career started at local giants Atletico Mineiro before he moved to tiny Porto Alegre FC in southern Brazil, a club owned by Ronaldinho’s brother Roberto Assis. He was offered a deal at Internacional in 2010, breaking into the first team of one of Brazil’s biggest club sides where ex-United striker Diego Forlan was a teammate.

After impressing, he followed a well-worn path of talented Brazilians moving to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013, becoming a regular in a side which won two Ukrainian league titles, two domestic cups and three Super Cups, as well as in the Champions and Europa Leagues.

Fred was also part of the side which became the first team to defeat Manchester City last season, helping Shakhtar qualify for a last-16 game against Roma. Fred, who scored four times and set up seven goals in 2017-18, scored a match winning free-kick against Roma, but Shakhtar went out of Europe on away goals.