Early career Fernandes began his youth career at local club
Infesta. Growing up, Fernandes was offered a youth contract at
Porto's academy, but he went to local rivals Boavista, who offered him transportation to training, with his parents being unable to take him to
Porto on a daily basis. Fernandes initially struggled in his new life in Italy, after suffering from homesickness and also had problems learning Italian. After his girlfriend moved to Italy, Fernandes quickly learned the language and began settling in the country, being nicknamed the "
Maradona of Novara" and the "Mini
Rui Costa".
Udinese and Sampdoria (2013–2017) In summer 2013,
Serie A clubs
Inter Milan and
Juventus wanted to sign him, but instead, Fernandes decided to sign for
Udinese in a
co-ownership deal, which promised him first-team opportunities. He made his debut in Serie A on 3 November, coming on as a second-half
substitute in a 0–3 home loss against Inter Milan. Fernandes scored his first league goal on 7 December, in a 3–3 draw at
Napoli. He scored again in the second match between the sides, a 1–1 draw. On 16 August 2016, Fernandes moved to
Sampdoria on loan with an obligation to be signed permanently. He made his league debut twelve days later, playing six minutes in a 2–1 home win over
Atalanta. Fernandes scored his first goal for his new team on 26 September, in a 1–2 away loss to
Cagliari. He scored five goals in 33 Serie A appearances during
the campaign,
Sporting CP 2017–2018: Primeira Liga Player of the Year On 27 June 2017, after returning from the
UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Fernandes joined
Sporting CP on a five-year deal, for a reported fee of €8.5 million plus bonuses. On 6 August, Fernandes made his debut for the club in a 2–0 home victory against
Desportivo das Aves. He scored four goals in his first five
Primeira Liga games, including a brace in a 5–0 away win against
Vitória de Guimarães. Fernandes' first appearance in the
UEFA Champions League group stage was on 12 September, where he put the visitors 3–0 ahead in the 43rd minute of an eventual
3–2 win at
Olympiacos. He finished his first season with 16 goals across all competitions, second only to
Bas Dost and provided 20 assists, being named in the
Primeira Liga Team of the Year and
Primeira Liga Player of the Year. On 15 May 2018, Fernandes and several of his teammates, including coaches, were injured following an attack by around 50 Sporting supporters at the club's training ground after the team finished third in the league and missed out on Champions League qualification. Despite the events, the team agreed to play in
the final of the
Taça de Portugal scheduled for the following weekend, eventually losing to Desportivo das Aves. Fernandes was named the Primeira Liga Player of the Year on 6 July. Four days later he signed a new five-year contract with a €100 million release clause, having turned back on his original decision to leave the
Estádio José Alvalade following the departure of club president
Bruno de Carvalho, and being given an improved salary in the process.
2018–2020: Highest-scoring midfielder in Europe Fernandes scored his 23rd competitive goal of the
2018–19 campaign during a 3–1 home win against
Portimonense on 3 March 2019, through a late
penalty, surpassing
António Oliveira's club record for goals by a midfielder in a season, set in
1981–82. On 5 May, he scored a
hat-trick in an 8–1 away rout of
Belenenses SAD, in the process becoming the highest-scoring Portuguese midfielder in a single season of all time, with 31 goals to his name. He scored his 33rd and final goal of the season on 25 May 2019, during Sporting's victory against Porto in the Taça de Portugal final. He scored seven goals in his first 10 appearances of the
2019–20 season, including a run of scoring in six consecutive appearances. This made him the third Sporting player in the 21st century to score in six or more consecutive appearances for the club, after
Mário Jardel and Bas Dost. On 28 November, he scored twice and assisted the other two goals in a 4–0 victory over
PSV Eindhoven, which guaranteed Sporting qualification to the knockout stages of the
UEFA Europa League.
Manchester United 2019–2020: Europa League top scorer On 29 January 2020, English club
Manchester United confirmed they had reached an agreement with Sporting to sign Fernandes for a fee reportedly worth up to €80 million (£67.6 million), subject to him passing a medical and agreeing personal terms. The transfer was officially completed the following day, for an initial fee of around €55 million (£47 million), plus up to €25 million (£21 million) in add-ons and 10% of the profits of a future sale. Fernandes signed a five-and-a-half-year contract. He made his debut on 1 February, playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless home draw to
Wolverhampton Wanderers. In United's 2–0 away win over
Chelsea on 17 February, he provided an assist for the second goal, a header from
Harry Maguire. Fernandes came on as a late substitute against
Club Brugge in a 1–1 draw on his European debut for the club. He scored his first United goal against
Watford on 23 February, converting from the penalty spot in a 3–0 victory at
Old Trafford, a match in which he also provided an assist for the third goal scored by
Mason Greenwood. His first European goal for the club came in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie against Club Brugge at Old Trafford, in which he scored a penalty, helping them to a 5–0 victory. On 16 March, Fernandes was voted as the
Premier League Player of the Month for February. On 30 June, Fernandes scored his first brace for the club in a 3–0 win over
Brighton & Hove Albion. For his performances in June, he won multiple club and Premier League awards, including Premier League Player of the Month and Goal of the Month, becoming the first player to win both awards concurrently in Premier League history. In September, Fernandes was named as the winner of Manchester United's
Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, given to the club's best player from the previous season.
2020–2021: Individual success and Europa League final On 26 September, Fernandes scored his first goal of the season against
Brighton & Hove Albion in the 100th minute of a 3–2 win at the
Amex Stadium; it was one of the latest goals in Premier League history, and came after referee
Chris Kavanagh had blown the final whistle, before a
video assistant referee awarded United a penalty which Fernandes converted. On 7 November, Fernandes scored a brace and provided an assist against
Everton to secure a 3–1 away win. He was named Premier League Player of the Month for November in recognition of his four goals and one assist that month, and again in December after scoring three goals and providing four assists in that month, becoming the first player to win the award four times in a single calendar year. He scored one goal and made two assists in United's Premier League record-equalling
9–0 home win against
Southampton on 2 February 2021. He finished third in terms of top goalscorers in the league with 18 goals and second among the top assist providers with 12. In April, a day after United had announced their plan to join the
European Super League along with 11 other clubs, Fernandes became the first potential European Super League player to comment on this, stating his disapproval: "Dreams can't be [bought]." By the next day, United withdrew from the prospective league, which was also announced to be "suspended" that day, amid a backlash from players, managers, football institutions, politicians, fans and the media. On 29 April, he scored twice and assisted two more goals in a 6–2 home win over
Roma in the first leg of the
Europa League semi-finals; and provided an assist in a 3–2 defeat in the return leg, which allowed United to advance to the final 8–5 on aggregate. On 18 May, he was named as the winner of the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award for the second successive season. On 26 May, United drew 1–1 against
Villarreal after extra-time, in the
Europa League Final, but eventually lost on penalties, despite Fernandes netting his spot kick in the shoot-out.
2021–2022: Champions League top assist provider match against
Leeds United during the
2021–22 season On 14 August, in the opening match of the
Premier League season, Fernandes scored a hat-trick against
Leeds United in a 5–1 win. He then scored in the team's next home game against Newcastle United, before missing a last minute penalty against Aston Villa two weeks later that would have salvaged a 1–1 draw. He later posted an apology for his penalty miss on
Instagram. On 23 November, Fernandes provided an assist for
Jadon Sancho in United's 2–0 victory away against Villarreal in the
Champions League, to ensure his team qualification to the
round of 16, becoming the first player to provide an assist in five consecutive matches of a Champions League campaign for an English club. On 2 December, Fernandes made his 100th appearance for the club, opening the scoring in United's 3–2 home win over
rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford. On 1 April 2022, Fernandes signed a new contract which would keep him at United until June 2026, with the option of a further year. On 2 May, he scored his 50th goal for United in the club's 3–0 home win over
Brentford. His performances declined during the season, with Fernandes alongside his teammates struggling and under-performing and with United supporters becoming increasingly frustrated by Fernandes' complaints to referees during matches, and with the club finishing a disappointing sixth place, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League, despite Fernandes being the top assist provider in the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League, with seven assists in total.
2022–2023: Ending the trophy drought On 1 July 2022, United announced that they had changed Fernandes' squad number from 18 to his preferred number 8, the same number he wore during his time for Sporting CP and as a tribute to his birth date and his father, upon the departure of
Juan Mata. Fernandes scored his first goal of the season on 27 August in a 1–0 away win against Southampton. On 3 January 2023, Fernandes made his 150th appearance for the club, assisting
Marcus Rashford's goal in United's 3–0 home win over
Bournemouth. Two weeks later, he was instrumental in United's 2–1 comeback win over
Manchester City in the
Manchester derby, scoring a goal that was part of the build-up play for United's controversial equaliser despite Rashford being in an offside position, helping United to extend their winning run to nine in all competitions. On 18 January, Fernandes scored in a 1–1 away draw to
Crystal Palace, registering his 100th goal contribution for the club. He also became the United midfielder with the second most goal contributions in the Premier League, only behind
Paul Scholes. On 26 February, Fernandes started in the
2023 EFL Cup final as United beat
Newcastle United 2–0 at
Wembley Stadium, winning his first trophy with the club. Fernandes created the most chances (119) in the
2022–23 Premier League, the highest on record since 2003–04 by a United player in a single campaign. United qualified for the
2023–24 UEFA Champions League after securing a third-place finish in the Premier League. In the
2023 FA Cup final, Fernandes equalised for United through a penalty in an eventual 2–1 defeat to local rivals Manchester City.
2023–present: Club captaincy and FA Cup win On 20 July 2023, Fernandes was named as Harry Maguire's replacement as
club captain. On 26 August, Fernandes scored his first goal of the season, netting a penalty, and also assisting
Casemiro in a 3–2 comeback win over
Nottingham Forest. The following months, United endured a difficult start to the season, most notably in the
Premier League and
Champions League, finishing last in their group. Fernandes' captaincy came under scrutiny, despite being the football player who played the most minutes in world football, with 72 games and 6,666 minutes dating from 15 September 2022 to 2023. In January 2024, during the winter
transfer window, Fernandes was the recipient of a contract offer worth €100 million from
Saudi Pro League side
Al-Hilal. If he had accepted the offer, he would have joined his national teammate
Rúben Neves, as well as former manager
Jorge Jesus, who was keen on signing him. However, the deal was eventually turned down by Fernandes, who felt he had unfinished business at United, stating that he was "happy [...] focused on Man United". On 7 April 2024, Fernandes scored his 50th Premier League goal from in a 2–2 draw against United's
arch rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. He was then named Manchester United Player of the Month for April after scoring seven goals in six appearances that month. On 23 May, Fernandes won the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, becoming a three-time recipient of the award. In the
2024 FA Cup final against local rivals Manchester City, Fernandes assisted
Kobbie Mainoo's goal in an eventual 2–1 win for United, winning his second trophy with the club and his first as club captain. After the match, pundit and former United midfielder
Roy Keane praised Fernandes: "I've been critical of Bruno over the years, but I've been proven wrong, his leadership was outstanding. I've always mentioned how brilliant he is as a player." In July, Fernandes was linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, with two clubs in the Saudi Pro League interested in him, but these rumours were dispelled in August when his contract with Manchester United was extended to 30 June 2027. On 29 September, Fernandes was sent off for a high challenge on
James Maddison in United's 3–0 loss to
Tottenham Hotspur at
Old Trafford. However, the red card was overturned by
The Football Association, following a successful claim of wrongful dismissal by the referee. On 3 October, he was sent off for the second time in five days when he received two yellow cards in a 3–3 draw with
Porto in the UEFA Europa League. This made him the first United player to be sent off in consecutive matches since
Eric Cantona in March 1994. He made his 250th appearance for the club on 11 November, scoring the opening goal and assisting
Alejandro Garnacho in a 3–0 win against
Leicester City. In the 2–0 loss to
Wolverhampton on 26 December, Fernandes received his third red card this season, becoming the first United player to receive three red cards in a season since
Nemanja Vidic in the 2008–09 season. On 13 March 2025, Fernandes scored a hat-trick against
Real Sociedad in a 4–1 second leg of the round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League, with a final score line of 5–2 across the two-legged tie. His performances in March, with two goals and two assists, including a 'sensational' direct free-kick against
Arsenal earned Fernandes his fifth
Premier League Player of the Month award. On 20 June, it was announced that Fernandes was one of six nominees for the
PFA Players' Player of the Year. On 30 August 2025, Fernandes scored his first Premier League goal of the
2025–26 season, a 97th minute penalty to win the game 3–2 against
Burnley. A month later, on 20 September, Fernandes made his 200th league appearance for United against
Chelsea, in which he scored his 100th goal for the club across all competitions in a 2–1 win. After scoring in a 2-0 home win against Tottenham Hotspur on 7 February 2026, Bruno Fernandes became the second fastest player to make 200 goal contributions in Manchester United's history, with 104 goals and 96 assists. On 15 March 2026, Fernandes set a new Manchester United record for most assists in a single Premier League season when he registered his 16th assist of the 2025–26 campaign in a 3–1 win over Aston Villa, surpassing the previous mark of 15 set by
David Beckham in 1999–2000. ==International career==