Fun fact: before becoming a legend, Fred nearly joined Fluminense in 2003 | OneFootball

The history of Fluminense is full of destined encounters, some immediate, others that happen only at the right time. One of these encounters is with Fred, one of the greatest idols in the club's history, who almost wore the tricolor jersey six years before his official arrival.

In 2003, right after the Copa São Paulo de Juniores, the young Fred, then a standout at América-MG, caught the attention of Fluminense. According to an article by Pedro Mota Gueiros from the newspaper O Globo, the Tricolor even made an inquiry to try to sign the forward, who was emerging as one of the great promises of Brazilian football.

Meanwhile, the club was also considering another possibility: the return of Romário. The "Baixinho" was enjoying his "king days" at Al Sadd in Qatar, with a short and lucrative contract. Even so, from afar, he made sure to send a message to the tricolor board: he wanted to return. Romário indicated that he could come back to Fluminense at the end of the contract, or even sooner, if there was a termination. The then-president David Fischel, cautious, said it was still too early to officially address the matter.

In the end, the story took the more well-known path. Fluminense prioritized Romário's return, who once again donned the tricolor jersey and attracted the spotlight at the beginning of that year. Meanwhile, Fred continued his journey, shone at Cruzeiro and Lyon in France, and only in 2009 did the long-awaited encounter finally happen.

And that young player observed in 2003 would become much more than a gamble: he became a leader, captain, idol, top scorer, and symbol of a generation. Considered by many as the greatest player in the club's history.

An almost forgotten inquiry, but one that shows how certain stories seem truly written to happen at the right time.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.