WATCH: Fred's Animated Chat With Jose Mourinho After First Hat-trick Of His Career

Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho was elated after Fred scored the first hat-trick of his career. The duo previously worked together for a brief period at Manchester United before Mourinho’s departure from the Premier League club. They once again reunited in Turkey after the Portuguese manager took charge of Fenerbahce on a two-year contract earlier in June. Fred shifted his base to Istanbul last summer after parting ways with Manchester United.

The Brazilian midfielder demonstrated his quality in his first appearance in the Turkish Super Lig this season. Thanks to his efforts, Fenerbahce notched a 5-0 win over Rizespor to continue their unbeaten streak. Fred broke the deadlock with a long-range strike in the 15th minute and scored his second goal on the hour mark. He completed the hat-trick just four minutes later, capitalising on a rebound.

Among others, Eden Dzeko secured his place in the scoresheet and the fifth one was an own-goal by Rizespor centre-back Husniddin Aliqualov. Fred was taken off in the 81st minute when the three points were all but confirmed. After leaving the pitch, the midfielder shared a touching moment with Mourinho, who was visibly proud of him.

The duo was captured engaging in an animated chat on the sidelines of the Rize City Stadium. It seemed Mourinho was congratulating Fred on his career-first hat-trick. The Brazilian also appeared quite happy as he made a huge contribution to the dominant victory.

A video featuring the moment was shared on social media and caught the attention of many football fans. One of them assumed that Jose Mourinho was perhaps asking Fred, “Why couldn’t you do that (scoring a hat-trick) for me at Manchester United?”

Another fan felt Jose Mourinho wanted Fred to score all “five goals” against Rizespor.

A Manchester United supporter feels his club might have made a mistake by releasing Fred. “Once a RED always a RED. Wish him the very best wherever he goes.”

This fan believes Fred “got better after he left Manchester United.”

It was Mourinho who brought Fred to Manchester United from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 in a £47 million deal. The manager was forced to leave the club a few months later. Fred, however, spent the next five seasons at Old Trafford before signing for Fenerbahce. Mourinho’s side currently leads the Turkish Super Lig table with seven points in three matches.