Since relocating from Brazil to Europe in 2013, Fred’s career has changed dramatically. He has played in the Turkish Süper Lig, Premier League and the Ukrainian Premier League. He also gained Brazilian national team representation and won multiple national league championships.
Who is Fred?
Frederic͏o Rodrigues de Paula Santos widely referred to as Fred hails from Belo Horizonte Brazil. Born in 1993 Fred has built a remarkable career in the role of a midfielder. Over the course of his professional path Fred has played for several teams such as Internacional Shakhtar Donetsk Manchester United and Fenerbahçe. Fred’s impact on the sport is evident through his journey.
Starting his journey in Brazil Fred transitioned to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013. Playing in Ukraine allowed Fred to gain valuable experience in the UEFA Champions League. While with the team Fred collected various trophies and made a name for himself as a significant midfielder achieving multiple caps for his national team.
In 2018 Fred footballer made a notable switch to Manchester United with the transfer costing around £47 million. A significant moment in Fred’s career he continued playing for the team until moving to Turkey in 2023. What stands out about Fred today is how he is still admired for his steady athletic performance characterized by his endurance precision and defensive skills. He is known for seamlessly transitioning between the two extremes of the game: defence and attack.
Physical profile
Fred footballer has built his career around mobility, balance, and endurance.
| Attribute | Details |
| Full name | Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos |
| Date of birth | 5 March 1993 |
| Fred age | 33 years |
| Place of birth | Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Fred height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 62 kg |
| Position | Central midfielder |
| Preferred foot | Left |
| Current club | Fenerbahçe |
| National team | Brazil |
Fred bio and early life
Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos was born in Belo Horizonte, a city known for its football culture. Santas started playing football at a very young age and later signed up for organized youth football.
Santos’s first football academy was Atlético Mineiro, and he began learning football in 2003 at this academy. Atlético Mineiro was very essential for Santos’s technical and tactical development for football, especially for midfield. For a short time, Santos played for a club in Porto Alegre, and soon after, he went to his next club.
In 2010, Santos signed a contract with Internacional. This move was very important for Santos’s development, as Internacional was one of the best clubs in Brazil. Santos continued to grow and was soon promoted to the principal team.
After Santos completed all of his youth football for Internacional in January 2012, he played his first professional match. Santos, along with his team, won the Campeonato Gaúcho for two consecutive years in 2012 and 2013.
International football clubs started to show interest for Santos after the 2013 football season when he had a very good season overall. Football clubs outside of Brazil noticed the improvement Santos had in midfield. In June 2013, Shakhtar Donetsk signed Santos for approximately €15 million. This began the first ever of Santos’s many football seasons in Europe and provided the opportunity for Santas to play for the UEFA Champions League.
Family life and personal background
Fred footballer values his privacy and is not one to publicly discuss his personal life. His interviews are usually focused on football, and he is not known to discuss his personal life.
Fred has been married to Monique Salum since 2018. Salum is a Brazilian chemical engineer. He has been married to Monique through his stints in Ukraine, England, and Turkey.
Fred and Monique had a son in January 2019. His name is Benjamin, and he shares a few pictures of him and his family on social media. He tends to share a limited amount of information regarding his personal life on the internet.
Fred’s family was very supportive of his football passion and ambition, which helped him continue his football career as he progressed through the youth teams in Brazil. He then went on to join the professional team of Internacional.
In 2013, Fred relocated to the first of many European countries, Ukraine, to continue his football career. His life also changed as he had to learn a new language and a new culture. After a few years of playing in Ukraine, he made another relocation to Manchester United, and yet another to Turkey in 2023. Fred enjoys his family’s company, and takes every opportunity to travel to Brazil from the United Kingdom.
Football career and development
Fred began at Internacional and worked his way up all levels of the club. His first professional game was in January 2012. Following this, he played more frequently.
By the end of 2012, he had scored his first goal and had assisted many others. Internacional were Champions of the Campeonato Gaúcho, and they achieved this again in 2013. Fred’s development was being watched outside of Brazil, and he was purchased by Shakhtar Donetsk in June 2013 for an estimated €15 million.
This was the beginning of Fred’s professional career in Europe. After moving, he had the chance to compete at a high level for the first time. He became a part of the main squad of Shakhtar Donetsk for the 2013-2014 season, and he made a positive entry to Ukrainian football scoring in the Super Cup and the Champions League.
He not only scored, but also helped Shakhtar Donetsk win many matches by dominating the midfield with most tackles and ball progressions from defence. He won numerous league and cup trophies during his five year stay at the club and while playing for the Brazil National football team.
Fred made his debut for the Brazilian National team in 2014, and became a participant of the Copa America and World Cup.
He faced some of the troubles in his career in 2015 after he was banned for a doping incident in Copa America. He managed to return to the club and gain his position in the centre of the pitch again and continued to play at the high level.
After the end of 2017-18 season, the high level performances Fred displayed attracted many Premier League teams. He completed a transfer from Shakhtar to Manchester United in the summer of 2018.
Manchester United and Fenerbahçe career
In June 2018, there was a signing of Fred Manchester United FC from FC Shakhtar Donetsk for £47 million. He had spent five years in Ukraine where he developed by winning multiple domestic championships and participating in the UEFA Champions League.
The English Premier League is fast and physically demanding and Fred had to compete with multiple players for a spot in the club’s midfield which curtailed the amount of time that he was on the field.
Fred scored his first goal for Manchester United FC in the 2018/2019 season, in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League, in September of that year. The subsequent seasons saw him play more regularly and was part of the club’s midfield under different managers.
Fred’s game style and work rate saw him play in every available match for Manchester United FC. He was required to play in a deeper midfield role which was less demanding in comparison to attacking midfield.
Fred was the player who started the club’s offensive builds from the defencive phase which was essential. He did not value his work based on the number of goals and assists that he provided.
Fred Man Utd side reached the Europa League final in the 2020-2021 season and was part of the side that lost the final to Villarreal via a penalty shootout.
Manchester United won the EFL Cup in 2023, which was Fred’s first major English trophy. This marked an important milestone after five seasons in the Premier League.
Fred not only was a the first choice in all competitions for Manchester United over his five year tenure but also was a favorite of the varying coaching staff.
In 2023, Fred left Manchester United after signing with Fenerbahçe. This was the start of a new phase in his career. The Fred Fenerbahçe transfer also saw him switch playing style and leagues once again.
Playing style and midfield role
Fred is primarily a central midfielder. Across his career, he has played as a defensive midfielder and as a box-to-box midfielder as well. That versatility aids coaches when creating tactical plans.
Fred’s game consists of movement and good positioning with the ability to create chances at a moment’s notice. He anticipates when to move to reach the ball first and limit an opposing player’s space to operate.
Fred also keeps possession with passes, both short and long. He is adept at progressing his team through midfield to support the attack during the first phase. He also aids in switching the draw with a thoughtful pass to the other side of the pitch when space is available.
Fred is an active defender too. He wins his fair share of duels and also does a good job of closing down space to recover possession. He also blocks passing lanes and aggressively tackles to regain possession at his club and with the national squad.
His versatility has helped him a great deal in a career spanning over a decade. He is also known for his long-distance running, even in the dying moments of a high-tempo game. Instead of scoring goals and providing assists, he is able to successfully link the defence to the midfield and also aid the attack.
Careers often have phases, and so do his duties. Souza notably played farther up the pitch as he began his career with Internacional and at Shakhtar Donetsk. He gradually transitioned to a deeper midfield role. Here, Souza would need to recover and distribute the ball more often than before.
Stats, Honours and Achievements
Throughout his career, he played for every professional club he was affiliated with in every domestic league, every national cup, and every European competition. He was also a national team player for Brazil, making his senior international debut in 2014. The Fred brazil career also included appearances at the Copa America, and he was a member of the squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Being more central, he also played a more central role. Goals and assists only cover the tipping point of the workload left by Souza. As a result, Fred stats also considers everything he did before he lent a hand at the other end of the pitch and outside of the defensive third.
- Campeonato Gaúcho: 2012, 2013 (Internacional)
- Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18 (Shakhtar Donetsk)
- Ukrainian Cup: 2015–16
- Ukrainian Super Cup: 2013, 2015
- EFL Cup: 2022–23 (Manchester United)
Several moments have shaped his professional career.
- Professional debut with Internacional (2012). Fred reached senior football after progressing through the club’s academy and became part of the first team during the 2012 season.
- Transfer to Shakhtar Donetsk (2013). His move to Europe introduced him to UEFA competitions and regular title races in Ukrainian football.
- Brazil senior debut (2014). His first international appearance marked the beginning of his career with the national team.
- Transfer to Manchester United (2018). The move to the Premier League followed five successful seasons in Ukraine and represented one of the biggest transfers of his career.
- Move to Fenerbahçe (2023). After five seasons in England, Fred continued his career in the Turkish Süper Lig and added another major European league to his playing experience.
Across more than a decade in professional football, Fred has adapted to different leagues, tactical systems, and coaching styles. His career includes domestic titles in Brazil and Ukraine, European competition, and regular appearances for the Brazil national team. Those achievements reflect consistency over many seasons rather than a single outstanding campaign.
