- Goalkeeper Jefferson was driving to training in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday
- Thugs jumped out of a car and pointed guns at his head at a junction
- He was forced from the car and onto his knees before they raced off with his 4×4
A Brazilian soccer star said that he is grateful to be alive after a gang pointed guns at his head and stole his Range Rover in Brazil.
Goalkeeper Jefferson de Oliveira Galvão, known internationally as Jefferson, was forced from his vehicle and onto his knees in the violent attack in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning.
The harrowing carjacking was caught on CCTV and shows his vehicle stop at a junction when another car pulled up ahead.
Three men jumped out and ran at his car pointing guns directly at his head.
The sports man emerged with his hands up and was forced to kneel on the ground facing a wall as the masked men jumped into his car and drove off, abandoning their own vehicle.
The 34-year-old had been on his way to training on Sunday morning when the violent carjacking took place, The Sun reports.
According to local media, police recovered the Range Rover during a raid late on Sunday night.
Jefferson wrote on social media: ‘I’ve sadly become another victim of the violence that ravages our city.
‘I was on my way to training with Botafogo when I was overpowered by armed men who intended to steal my car and my belongings.
The soccer star had stopped at a junction when the gun-wielding carjackers pulled up
They pointed guns at his head and forced him out of the vehicle and onto his knees
‘God gave me the calmness to deal with the dangerous situation, and thanks to Him I did not suffer any violence.’
The goalkeeper, who has been capped 22 times for Brazil between 2011 and 2015, had a spell in Europe between 2005 and 2009 with Turkish sides Trabzonspor and Konyaspor.
Jefferson helped Brazil win the Confederations Cup in 2013.
He was on the No 2 for Brazil in the 2014 World Cup – sitting on the bench when Germany humiliated the Selecao 7-1 in the semi-final.