Fredua Koranteng "Freddy" Adu (born June 2, 1989) is an American former professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder.

First, he became the youngest athlete ever to sign a professional contract in the United States at 14 years old, after he was selected by the team in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft in January 2004.

Adu was born and raised in the port city of Tema, Ghana, where he played soccer against men three times his age.

[8] In 1997, when he was eight, his mother, Emelia Adu, won a green card through the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery, and his family moved to Rockville, Maryland, in the United States, where he attended Sequoyah Elementary School.

[8][10] At the age of 14, Adu became the youngest American ever to sign a major league professional contract in any team sport when he was chosen by D.C. United as the number one overall pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft.

D.C. United had previously signed American youngsters Bobby Convey in 2000 and Santino Quaranta in 2001—both aged 16 and the youngest players in MLS at the times of being drafted.

Some commentators suggested that Adu was too young to be playing professionally and that he needed more time to develop mentally and physically amongst players his own age.

[21] Adu made his debut for Real Salt Lake on April 7, 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–2 draw with FC Dallas.

[24] Adu was also captain of the U-20 United States men's national team in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he made an impressive showing.

After the conclusion of that tournament, Benfica of the Portuguese Liga secured Adu's rights from MLS for a transfer fee of $2 million.

On July 28, 2007, Adu opted out of playing for Real in their regular-season match, and later that day, boarded a plane to Portugal to negotiate with Benfica.

[26] On August 14, 2007, Adu made his debut with Benfica against Copenhagen in a UEFA Champions League qualifying match, coming into the game in the 37th minute as a substitute.

[31] Adu signed a 12-month loan deal with Greek side Aris in January 2010,[32] joining fellow United States international Eddie Johnson.

[40] Adu debuted for Philadelphia Union on August 13 in a match against FC Dallas and scored his first goal for the club on September 7, 2011, against New England Revolution.

[44] At the end of February, they decided against offering Adu a contract, although they gave permission for him to continue training with the club to aid his fitness.

[45] In June 2014, Adu began training with Norwegian club Stabæk, managed by former United States national team coach Bob Bradley.

[50] Adu made his debut for Jagodina on September 24, 2014, coming on as a second-half substitute in a Serbian Cup match against FK BSK Borča.

[68] After signing with the club, Adu expressed his excitement to play professional soccer again, observing that he "skipped a lot of steps in the past but now he gets a chance to do it right".

"[72] Österlen manager Agim Sopi told Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen: "He has said that he wants to resume his career and then I think you want to show yourself from your best side, but he was totally untrained when he came here.

Adu captained the United States under-20 men's national team in January 2007 as it qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.

He scored two goals from free kicks in the United States' 3–0 win over Canada in the semifinals of the tournament, which ultimately qualified them for the Olympics along with Honduras.

Adu was called into the United States national team's training camp by coach Bruce Arena in January 2006 for a friendly match against Canada.

Adu was capped in that game on January 22 (at 16 years and 234 days), becoming the youngest player to appear for the United States national team when he replaced an injured Eddie Johnson in the 81st minute at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California.

Adu scored his first international goal (at 19 years and 170 days) as a member of the full United States national squad from a free kick in a November 19, 2008, World Cup qualifier against Guatemala.

[84] After having failed to make an appearance in the team's friendly against Spain as well as the first four tournament matches, Adu was a surprise substitute in the semifinal against Panama, coming on in the second half of a scoreless draw for Juan Agudelo.

It was Adu's pass from mid-field that freed Landon Donovan on a counterattack, where he was able to cross the ball to Clint Dempsey for the winner.