Fred has made such an impact since leaving Premier League giants Manchester United for Feyenoord that comparisons are being drawn with basketball legend Michael Jordan at the Chicago Bulls.
20 games, 20 wins. You certainly can’t argue with numbers like that, Fred maintaining his 100 per cent record at Fenerbahce during Sunday’s narrow 1-0 triumph away from home at Gazientep.
A £13 million summer signing – and talk about value for money – Fred’s move from Manchester United to Fenerbahce had some wondering if this was something of a ‘Last Dance’ at the top level of European football.
Turkish reporter Guntekin Onay, however, suggests Fred is in Turkey not to bring the curtain down on his career, but to create a legacy and kick-start an era of domestic dominance a la a certain basketball icon in the 1990s.
Is Fred football’s own Michael Jordan?
“I have never seen anything like this in my life! Even Michael Jordan didn’t have that impact in Chicago!,” Onay writes for Hurriyet Spor Arena.
“(Fred) is perhaps Fenerbahce’s most important player in the league. You know the value of a football player when he is there, and you understand his value when he is not there.
“Fenerbahçe played 20 matches with Fred and have won all of them. Fenerbahce played 12 matches without Fred; 7 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses.
“(He makes them better) both in defence and attack.”
20 wins from 20 after Manchester United exit
Fenerbahce are two points clear of Istanbul neighbours Galatasaray at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table. His Old Trafford replacement, Fiorentina loanee Sofyan Amrabat, has not enjoyed close to the same impact at Old Trafford, with Man United looking very much like a team who would benefit from Fred’s enthusiasm and energy in the centre of the park.
“Fred has become a phenomenon. He has won every match he has played for Fenerbahce,” reporter Gurcun Bilgic tells A Spor.
“(Fenerbahce) are like Terminators, and the ignition key is in Fred’s hand.”
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