10 Retired Footballers Who Went Out In Style
4. Fred
As Fred is still actively playing, it is not his full retirement that we will be discussing here, but rather his international retirement.
The now-36-year-old striker had regularly been a fixture in Brazil's squads due to his favour among the players and managers, particularly with Luiz Felipe Scolari who managed the national team between 2013 and 2014.
Coming off the back of a long-term injury that saw him miss the final 21 games of the 2013 season, Fred had a promising start to the 2014 season with 2 goals and 2 assists in the opening five matches.
Fred was subsequently called up for international duty at the 2014 World Cup. No one could predict how poorly this tournament would go for him.
Despite starting every game en route to the semi-final, he managed just a solitary goal and came under heavy criticism for his poor performances.
This was capped off by the famous 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany, a game in which he played 69 minutes and managed just a single shot.
He also failed to register any tackles, crosses, runs or interceptions.
Fred promptly retired after the tournament after he was an unused substitute in Brazil's third-place playoff loss to the Netherlands.