Manchester United star given two new nicknames by his teammates including 'The Little Ant'

Manchester United midfielder Fred has been given two new nicknames by his Brazil teammates.

The 29-year-old, whose full name is Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, was included in Tite's 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

The United midfielder came off the bench in Brazil's 2-0 win over Serbia in their opening game of the tournament.

Fred then started their second match, a 1-0 victory over Switzerland on Monday.

Fred given two new nicknames

It has now been revealed that Fred has been given two new nicknames by his Brazilian teammates following his energetic performances for the national side in Qatar.

According to Brazilian sports scientist Guilherme Passos, Fred has been nicknamed Fedinho and The Little Ant by his fellow Brazil internationals.

"We had a match in the Copa America where Fred covered 12 kilometres," Passos told Globo, as reported on Manchester United's website.

"He is always in our top one or top two, in volume of distance travelled and in terms of work rate, which means he is constantly travelling through the field at high and moderate speed."

Fred has been applauded for his fitness levels and ability to recover quickly after difficult matches.

"We pay a lot of attention to Fred regarding his recovery," added Passos.

"Because he loses a lot of weight during the game, precisely because of this great work rate. He is one of the main athletes that we have to rehydrate a lot after the game, and increase the carbohydrate intake a lot, to be able to recover well for the next match.

"He manages to recover quickly because he is an athlete who pays attention to this information and follows the recovery protocols.

“It's not just because of genetics because, of course, he is genetically favoured, like everyone at a high level, but he has great discipline."

Brazil next face Cameroon in their final group game on Friday and need just a point to guarantee themselves top spot in the group.

Topics: Fred, Brazil, Manchester United, Football, Football World Cup, Premier League

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan