A 24-year-old football player was found dead in southern Brazil over the weekend.

Police are investigating the death of Daniel Corrêa Freitas, a Brazilian midfielder from Sao Paulo, after his body was found on Saturday in a rural area in southeastern Curitiba. Curitiba Institute of Forensic Medicine listed knife wounds as a preliminary cause of death.

Although the police did not publicly discuss any of the findings of his investigation, several Brazilian journalists reported on Monday that Freitas was in a nightclub on Friday night before his disappearance and that his body had been mutilated. A newspaper, Folha de São Paulo, reported that Freitas was almost beheaded, among other horrible injuries.

Freitas, who was on loan with Sao Bento in the second division at the time of his death, started his senior career at Botafogo before signing a contract with Sao Paulo. The three teams issued statements crying his death.

"It is with deep regret that the football club of São Paulo deplores the death of Daniel and stands with his friends and family at this painful moment," Sao Paulo said in a press release.

"The club's board regrets him and sympathizes with the family and friends of the player at this time of deep sadness," said Sao Bento, who had loaned Freitas.

Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on Twitter @ Tom_Schad.