Background
Fernando was born in Alto Paraíso de Goiáson
Fernando was born in Alto Paraíso de Goiáson
Porto
In June 2007 he signed a five-year contract with Football Club Porto directly from the Série C, having started his career at Vila Nova Futebol Clube. However, he spent his first year in Portugal loaned to Chaplain to the Forces Estrela da Amadora, where he was first-choice. On 9 February 2014, following an extensive negotiation that inclusively saw the player being suspended, Fernando renewed his contract with Porto until 2017.
Manchester City
On 25 June 2014, Fernando completed a move to Manchester City for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £12 million.
Upon arriving, he said: "I will give my all every time I play and I"m looking forward to many happy years in Manchester". In January 2013, Fernando declared: "Even if someone asked me to naturalize, I would refuse.
My dream is to play for Brazil. I"m sure one day I will wear the amarelinha".
In December, however, he became a Portuguese citizen, applying to Fédération internationale de football association in March 2014 to change his international allegiance to Portugal.
Under article 8.1 of the governing body"s statutes, however, he was only eligible to represent Brazil internationally as he previously played for that country at under-20 level and at that time he did not hold Portuguese nationality.
He spent most of his career with Porto with whom he signed in 2007, going on to appear in 236 official games and win 12 major titles, including four national championships and the 2011 Europa League. In the 2008-2009 season, having returned to Porto, Fernando was an ever present midfield fixture alongside established Lucho González and Raul Meireles, as the northerners achieved a fourth consecutive Primeira Liga title. He continued to be a starter when healthy, appearing in 41 official games during the 2010-2011 campaign (including two goals in nearly 3,000 minutes of action) as his team won the treble. He made his competitive debut on 10 August in the 2014 FA Community Shield, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–3 loss against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium. A week later he first appeared in the Premier League, in a 2–0 win at Newcastle United. Fernando scored his first goal for City on 26 December 2014, contributing to a 3–1 away win over West Bromwich Albion. Fernando was in the Brazilian under-20 squad at the 2007 South American Youth Championship, where he was sent off in the second round against Chile for assaulting referee Albert Duarte, as the nation went on to win the tournament in Paraguay. Subsequently he received a one-year ban from CONMEBOL competitions for his actions, and was not included for the following tournament in the category, the 2007 Fédération internationale de football association World Cup.
Quotations:
"I will give my all every time I play and I"m looking forward to many happy years in Manchester". "Even if someone asked me to naturalize, I would refuse. My dream is to play for Brazil.
I"m sure one day I will wear the amarelinha".
