Alan Pulido: Kidnapped Mexican footballer rescued after 24 hours, authorities say

The Olympiacos and Mexico striker Alan Pulido has been rescued and is home "safe and sound", around 24 hours after he was kidnapped by gunmen in the north of the country, Mexican officials have said.

Local security forces said in a statement early on Monday that the rescue occurred shortly before midnight.

According to the statement, Pulido is still being medically assessed.

The 25-year-old had not been seen since he left a party in the early hours of Sunday morning, which he had attended with his girlfriend in his home town of Ciudad Victoria.

According to local media reports, Pulido left the party with his girlfriend at around 11.30pm local time.

Several trucks are said to have surrounded the footballer's car before six masked gunmen released his girlfriend and took him away by force.

Pulido began his professional footballing career at Tigres, in the state of Nuevo Leon which neighbours Tamaulipas.

He caught the eye of international scouts at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and that summer joined the Greek side Levadiakos for a brief spell. He moved to Olympiacos in July 2015.