Former El Salvador footballer Alfredo Pacheco murdered

Pacheco (right) was found murdered on Sunday. Credit: Reuters

Former El Salvador national footballer Alfredo Pacheco has been found murdered, the Salvadoran attorney general's office has said.

Pachecho, 33, who was banned from the sport for life in 2013 for his involvement in match fixing, was shot several times whilst chatting with a group of friends at a petrol station at around 3.30am, authorities said.

Two other people were injured, and taken to a local hospital.

Pacheco held the most caps for the Salvadoran national team, and was a defender who played for Club Deportivo FAS and Asociacion Deportiva Isidro Metapan. He also played for the New York Red Bulls in the United States.

Police data shows the murder rate in El Salvador has risen 55 per cent in the last year.