The Fred Situation

By: Inara | January 9th, 2008

I’ve been putting off writing about his because I don’t really know what to say. It’s hard to face the fact that one of Lyon’s most talented players, someone who used to be a fan favorite, has turned into such a disappointment.

I know a lot of you guys are upset that Fred’s leaving, and part of me is too. He was so fabulous during his first year here, as well as the first half of last year. But then his injury happened, and his insecurities took over. These days, Karim Benzema is the #1 striker, but it’s important to remember that even back in August, Benzema wasn’t considered a set starter. Of course, he’s improved so much now that he deserves to start, but my point is, back in the summer, Fred was supposed to be the starter.

Even after recovering from his injury - which was pretty much self-inflicted, I might add - Fred hasn’t recovered his form yet. And frankly, Lyon don’t have time to wait for him to do so. We gave him six months. I think Lyon might even have given him another chance, but he’s been incommunicado with the club, not answering phone calls, refusing to return to France, etc. Edit: He finally showed up at Lyon today - ten days after everyone else did.

In general, Lyon manage their players very well, and if they trust a player’s abilities, they won’t drop him the day after. Fred’s situation is completely different from those involving Michael Essien, Mahamadou Diarra, Eric Abidal, Florent Malouda, and Tiago. Those players fought to leave. They were top players who were sold for top dollar. But not so Fred, who Lyon are more than willing to sell for a huge loss. A talented player to be sure, but one who can cause trouble amongst his teammates and the staff.

So what will happen to Fred? Well, he has quite a few suitors, and he’s not very finicky about playing in the Champions League. What he cares about is regaining his place in the Brazil NT, and luckily for him, Dunga doesn’t put as much emphasis on that particular competition as he does on voodoo.

Several clubs have declared their interest - Manchester City, Tottenham, Middlesbrough, and West Ham, as well as Real Betis in Spain and Sao Paulo and Santos in Brazil. He has also tenuously been linked with Roma. But the most probable destination at the moment is PSG. I imagine Fred doesn’t want to start out in an entirely different league in the middle of the year, not when he’s picked up his French and settled into the country.

Lyon don’t want to loan Fred but sell him permanently. However, PSG can’t afford both his salary and his transfer fee (€2.4m and €10m respectively), so I guess Lyon won’t get their wish. But it could turn out for the best. Maybe Fred will recover his form - and his brain - while at Paris, and then could come back to Lyon a better man.

Edit: Okay, maybe PSG don’t want Fred. Geez, I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.