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Mexican officials from the state of Tamaulipas admitted they lied, conceding the kidnapped international soccer player Alan Pulido escaped from his captors on his own accord and wasn't freed by security forces as was first reported.
Pulido appeared outside a police office with a bandaged hand and said he was "very well" shortly after escaping.
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A press release issued late Sunday first claimed that Pulido had been “rescued.” However, an official later on Monday morning clarified that Pulido had escaped his captors on his own.
According to the soccer player, he managed to disarm one of men tasked with keeping watch over him in a safe house. Pulido then shot the individual, escaped through a window and subsequently called police.
"The most important thing is that he is here, he is with us, and that's what we want to tell you," said the Governor of Tamaulipas Egidio Torre Cantu.
According to official reports, the striker went missing in the early hours of Sunday morning from the city of Ciudad Victoria, in the state of Tamaulipas, where Pulido had been at a party with his girlfriend.
He apparently left the social gathering before midnight and as he was driving, his vehicle was surrounded by various pickup trucks from which six masked men descended.
“They took him away by force,” the 25-year-old’s brother Armando Pulido stated.
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His girlfriend was also taken but released and left in the parking lot where they had been abducted.
Olympiakos acquired Alan Pulido for about US$3.2 million and signed him on through June 2019.
Pulido, who played 15 games last season, was instrumental in the final months of the season as the club won the Greek Superleague with six matches to spare. He finished the season with six goals, including a winning one against Xanthi.
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