See Goalkeeper who killed his girlfriend and fed her body to his dogs, signs for new club

A Brazilian goalkeeper who was jailed for ordering the murder of his girlfriend, whose body was then chopped up and fed to his dogs, has been signed by a club just weeks after his release from prison.

Bruno Fernandes de Souza has been handed a two-year-deal with Boa Esporte, who ply their trade in the second-tier of Brazilian football.

Fernandes, who is known in Brazil as Bruno, served seven years of a 22-year sentence following the murder in 2010, before his release from prison Apac de Santa Luzia on February 24.

The 32-year-old was playing for South American giants Flamengo before his arrest in August 2010 for the murder of former girlfriend Eliza Samudio, who he had a son with.

He is said to have wanted his former lover dead so he could avoid paying child support following the birth of his son.

Police believed Bruno planned her abduction and murder with eight others after Ms Samudio refused to have an abortion.

It’s claimed his ex-partner was held captive in a property in Belo Horizonte and tortured by former military policeman Luiz Santos, who was allegedly paid £8,000 to murder her.

Bruno watched on as Ms Samudio was brutally murdered before helping Santos chop up her body and in 2013 he admitted knowing she had been strangled and that her remains had been fed to rottweilers, but denied ordering the killing.

Her body was never found and Bruno was sentenced to 22 years and three months for the murder and disposal of the body.

But after his release from prison, the goalkeeper, who had previously been linked with moves to Barcelona and AC Milan, sought to find a new club, with Boa Esporte agreeing to take him on.

The decision has caused uproar in Brazil and one of their main sponsors, Nutrents Nutrition, has ended its deal with the club.

Club president Rone Moraes da Costa released a statement amid the fury, claiming Boa Esporte were doing a positive thing by helping to restore a person to society by giving him work.

He said the club ‘was not responsible for the release and freedom of the athlete, Bruno, but the club and the team, as a company, represented by human beings, endowed with justice and legality, can say that they tried to do justice by helping a human being.’

Bruno was due to start training with his new team-mates and is hoping to start playing within the next two months.