Fred Announces Retirement from International Football

Brazil's 2014 World Cup campaign was an unmitigated disaster, and following the team's 3-0 loss to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off, striker Fred announced his retirement from international football.

According to Sky Sports, Fred made the following brief comment to Brazilian media: "For me, the Selecao is finished."

The forward was the team's top scorer during last year's Confederations Cup, but he suffered through a dreadful World Cup and was one of the most criticised players on the Selecao squad, per the Daily Mail's John Drayton.

Fred scored just one goal during the World Cup, in his team's 4-1 win over Cameroon, and he failed to step up once star striker Neymar went down with a back injury.

Fred was called out for his lack of movement skills during the tournament, and he was perhaps the player receiving most jeers during his team's 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany. His biggest contribution to that match was kicking off the ball after each goal the Selecao conceded, via Squawka:

Gary Lineker also couldn't help himself during the match between the Netherlands and Brazil:

While plenty of fans turned to social media to mock the striker's decision (suggesting this is good news for Brazilian fans), it's important to note Fred was hardly the only player at fault for Brazil's horrendous showing at the World Cup.

Without Neymar the team was bereft of any player willing to act as a playmaker, and as a result the strikers were never put into solid scoring positions after the Barcelona man went down.

Fred proved his value as a striker during last year's Confederations Cup, and he was far from the worst performer for the Selecao in 2014. To see the Brazilian crowd use him as a scapegoat to the point the man feels he has to retire at the young age of 30 is sad news indeed. No player deserves to face such harsh criticism.

The striker scored 15 times in 33 caps as a member of the Brazilian national team.