Brazilian goalkeeper who ordered murder of woman whose body was fed to dogs returns to football

Bruno de Souza was handed a 22-year-long jail sentence after he was found guilty of ordering the murder of Eliza Samudio, his former lover

Bruno was taken into custody by the Brazilian authorities in July 2010 (Getty)

The president of Boa Esporte has defended the club’s decision to offer a contract to Bruno de Souza, a Brazilian goalkeeper who ordered the murder of a woman.

Bruno was released from prison last month having served seven years of a 22-year sentence for arranging the homicide of his former lover Eliza Samudio.

Samudio had fallen pregnant with the married Bruno’s child following a sexual encounter in 2009. She refused to have an abortion and, after the child’s birth, sought financial support from Bruno.

The 25-year-old model was killed in June 2010 after Bruno and a number of others conspired to lure her to a location in Belo Horizonte, where her body was subsequently dismembered and fed to dogs.

Bruno was found guilty of ordering her murder in March 2013, three years after his initial arrest. The 32-year-old goalkeeper has now been released while awaiting the outcome of an appeal.

The former Atletico Minieiro and Flamengo player's release and return to football with Boa Esporte, who play in the Brazil’s second-tier, has sparked widespread controversy across the country.

However, Boa Esporte’s president Rone Moraes da Costa has defended his club’s actions and claimed that they are simply offering Bruno an attempt to prove he is a reformed character.

“Boa Esporte was not responsible for the release and freedom of the athlete,” he told ZH Sports, while also claiming that the club was merely attempting to “do justice by helping a human being who seeks to recover”.

The nutritional supplement company Nutrends has already terminated its relationship with Boa Esporte, while the Varginha club's Facebook page has been inundated with comments condemning the signing of Bruno.