Viral German soccer fan Freddy explained why he deactivated account in social media return

What started as a German soccer fan documenting his journey through SEC country ahead of the World Cup quickly turned into one of the major stories of the World Cup. And with the virality of Freddy’s journey across America (and Toronto), came plenty of skepticism and backlash.

But now, Freddy is back on social media.

The anonymous account that features a Cristiano Ronaldo avatar deactivated the account at 750,000 followers back in June after some users uncovered problematic tweets and accused Freddy of misrepresenting his experience with travel to the U.S.

Freddy would tweet in excitement over American small towns, gas stations and chain restaurants as if he had never stepped foot in the U.S. when earlier tweets contradicted that image. And as Freddy gained popularity, brands and celebrities lined up to capitalize on the virality by treating Freddy and his friends to unique experiences. By then, the account became more of a marketing vehicle than an organic World Cup trip.

Come Monday, Freddy returned to Twitter/X and offered his explanation for both deactivating the account and continuing to document his journey.

Freddy wrote in a tweet from Clemson, South Carolina:

Hello again.

We’re currently in Clemson, South Carolina. I’ve decided to come back here to document the final part of our road trip.

The main reason I deactivated my account two weeks ago was that things became increasingly toxic. For some people, it’s unfortunately unfathomable that a good story can exist without some kind of hidden agenda behind it. There was even a Reddit group going through my entire account trying to find anything they could use to reveal my identity.

I know this was only a small percentage of people, but after a while it became exhausting. During the last two weeks, I received so many kind messages on Instagram, and they really made me realize how many people genuinely enjoyed following the trip. Some people even told me that their grandparents regularly ask them, “What are the Germans up to today?” I think that’s really cool.

I decided to continue because I realized that the overwhelming majority of people loved following along. A small group of very loud people shouldn’t be able to ruin something that brought so many others joy.

I also want to clear something up, as people who follow me on Instagram already know.

I’ve been to the United States before. This is not my first visit, and I’ve never claimed that it was. The last time I was here was in January 2022, when I visited New York and Philadelphia.

A lot of people shared my Raising Cane’s post from November 2025 to make it look like I was secretly American. That post wasn’t from the United States, it was from my trip to Saudi Arabia.

This is my first time back in the U.S. in more than four years, and apart from Boston, I’d never visited any of the places we’ve been to on this trip before. That’s probably why many people assumed it was our first time in America, because for all of these places, it actually was.

And let me tell you, Ohio and Alabama are very different from New York City or Los Angeles.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks for reading.

We’re currently in Clemson, South Carolina. I’ve decided to come back here to document the final part of our road trip.

The main reason I deactivated my account two weeks ago was that things became increasingly toxic. For some people, it’s unfortunately unfathomable that a good story can exist without some kind of hidden agenda behind it. There was even a Reddit group going through my entire account trying to find anything they could use to reveal my identity.

I know this was only a small percentage of people, but after a while it became exhausting. During the last two weeks, I received so many kind messages on Instagram, and they really made me realize how many people genuinely enjoyed following the trip. Some people even told me that their grandparents regularly ask them, “What are the Germans up to today?” I think that’s really cool.

I decided to continue because I realized that the overwhelming majority of people loved following along. A small group of very loud people shouldn’t be able to ruin something that brought so many others joy.

I also want to clear something up, as people who follow me on Instagram already know.

I’ve been to the United States before. This is not my first visit, and I’ve never claimed that it was. The last time I was here was in January 2022, when I visited New York and Philadelphia.

A lot of people shared my Raising Cane’s post from November 2025 to make it look like I was secretly American. That post wasn’t from the United States, it was from my trip to Saudi Arabia.

This is my first time back in the U.S. in more than four years, and apart from Boston, I’d never visited any of the places we’ve been to on this trip before. That’s probably why many people assumed it was our first time in America, because for all of these places, it actually was.

And let me tell you, Ohio and Alabama are very different from New York City or Los Angeles.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Freddy’s trip is set to run until July 23. He planned to be in America in case Germany made a run to the World Cup final, but the four-time champions lost to Paraguay in the Round of 32.