Atlético Paranaense Fernandinho began his career at
Atlético Paranaense alongside his future Shakhtar teammate
Jádson and close friend Carlos. In Paranaense he was runners-up of both the Brazilian first division (in 2004) and the Libertadores da America, in 2005. He made 72 appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals, before moving to
Ukrainian side
Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of around £7 million.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2005–09: Initial league championships and UEFA Cup In his first season as a Shakhtar player he played 34 matches, including 23 league appearances, and scored three goals, with one coming in the league. Shakhtar were victorious in the
Super Cup, however Fernandinho did not play in the match. He played in the championship deciding match between Shakhtar and
Dynamo Kyiv, who were level on 75 points after all 30 games had been played, in which Shakhtar prevailed 2–1 to take the
title. This marked Fernandinho's first league title with Shakhtar. He made 25 league appearances in the
2006–07 season as Shakhtar finished 2nd to Dynamo Kyiv. They also finished as runners-up in the
Ukrainian Cup and
Ukrainian Super Cup. In the
2007–08 season Shakhtar regained the championship with Fernandinho playing a pivotal role by scoring 11 goals, including one from the penalty spot, in 29 league appearances. He failed to appear in just one league match during the season. Shakhtar were also victorious in the
Ukrainian Cup, giving Fernandinho his first cup success. However they were defeated in the Super Cup by Dynamo Kyiv for the second year in a row. After the match finished 2–2, it went to penalties and, although Fernandinho converted a penalty, Shakhtar lost 4–2. in 2009 On 15 July 2008, Fernandinho played in the
Super Cup victory against Dynamo Kyiv. The match went to
penalties after the two teams drew 1–1 at the end of extra time. Fernandinho scored one of the penalties to help Shakhtar to a 5–3 win in the shoot-out. He scored the
equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with
Karpaty Lviv on 27 July. On 3 August he picked up a 63rd minute
red card in a 3–0 victory over
Illichivets Mariupol. On 31 August he scored a penalty in a 2–2 draw against
Metalurh Zaporizhya. On 16 September he scored the opening goal in a 2–1
Champions League victory against
Swiss club
Basel. On 8 November, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 victory against
Tavriya Simferopol. On 9 December he scored a goal in Shakhtar's 3–2 away win against Spanish side
Barcelona in the
Champions League group stage match. On 26 February 2009, Fernandinho scored the equalising goal in Shakhtar's 1–1 away leg draw against English team
Tottenham Hotspur in the
UEFA Cup. Shakhtar won the tie 3–1 on aggregate. On 7 March, he scored the only goal, a penalty, in a 1–0 victory against
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. On 15 March, he opened the scoring from the penalty spot in a 3–0 victory against
Metalist Kharkiv. On 19 March he scored a penalty in Shakhtar's 2–0 victory over Russian team
CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup. Shakhtar won the tie 2–1 on aggregate. On 16 April he netted a goal in a 2–1 UEFA Cup win against
Marseille. Shakhtar emerged victorious from the tie with a 4–1 aggregate win. He also scored a pivotal equalising goal in the first leg of the
UEFA Cup semi final match against Dynamo Kyiv which finished 1–1. Shakhtar advanced to the final by virtue of a 3–2 aggregate victory after securing a 2–1 win at the
Donbas Arena in the second leg. Shakhtar won the
UEFA Cup with a 2–1 victory over German side
Werder Bremen in the last UEFA Cup before it was renamed the
UEFA Europa League. He made 42 total appearances, including 21 in the league, and scored 11 goals, including five in the league, in the
2008–09 season.
2009–13: Domestic dominance and individual success The 2009–10 season saw Shakhtar lift the
Premier League trophy. Fernandinho's first goal came on 29 July, in a 2–2
Champions League draw against
Politehnica Timișoara in the third qualifying round, however Shakhtar were knocked out of the
competition, losing on away goals after a 0–0 draw at
home. On 20 September, he scored a penalty in a 4–2 victory over
Arsenal Kyiv. He scored two goals in a 5–1 victory over
Karpaty Lviv on 18 October, including one from the
penalty spot. On 22 October the first goal, a penalty, in a 4–0 victory against French side
Toulouse in the
Europa League. He scored a 93rd-minute goal in a 2–0
Ukrainian Cup victory against Dynamo Kyiv on 28 October. On 6 December he scored a penalty to open the scoring in a 2–0 win over
Kryvbas. On 24 March, he scored a 92nd-minute goal against
Metalurh Donetsk in the Ukrainian Cup, however it proved to be only a consolation goal as Shakhtar lost the match 2–1. Fernandinho made 24 league appearances, netting 4 times. He made a total of 39 appearances with 8 goals. in 2010 In the following
season Fernandinho played in the 7–1 Super Cup win over Tavriya Simferopol on 4 July. On 18 July, he netted an equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with Metalurh Zaporizhya. On 7 August he scored the opening goal in a 5–0 win over
Sevastopol. He also played a part in the 1–0
UEFA Super Cup defeat to
Barcelona on 28 August. He suffered a broken leg in a 1–0 defeat to
Obolon Kyiv on 10 September, which was expected to rule him out for the entire season. He eventually returned on 1 April 2011 after almost seven months out of action in a 3–1 victory over Illichivets Mariupol. He scored a late 94th-minute match-winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Tavriya, his first goal since returning from injury. On 25 May, he played the full 90 minutes in Shakhtar's 2–0
Ukrainian Cup Final victory over Dynamo Kyiv. At the end of the season Shakhtar won the championship, with Fernandinho contributing three goals from his 15 league appearances. They managed to win three prizes (
Premier League,
Cup and
Super Cup). Fernandinho began the
2011–12 season with Shakhtar's only goal in a 3–1 Super Cup defeat to Dynamo Kyiv. On 31 July he scored Shakhtar's only goal in a match against Arsenal Kyiv, however a 95th-minute equaliser prevented them from winning the match and taking all three points. He netted a goal in a 3–1 victory against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on 13 August. On 27 November he scored the second goal, from a penalty, in a 5–0 victory over Karpaty Lviv. On 27 April, he scored a penalty in a 4–3 Ukrainian Cup match against
Volyn Lutsk. He netted the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Metalist Kharkiv on 2 May. He scored six goals in 32 appearances, with 24 appearances and four goals in the league, over the season. He played in the
Ukrainian Cup Final victory over
Metalurh Donetsk. At the end of the season, with his contract due to expire, he signed a new five-year contract with the club until 2016. Shakhtar retained the
league title for the third year in a row, Fernandinho's fifth overall with the club, and also secured another
Cup trophy, their second in a row. Fernandinho started the
2012–13 season by assisting
Douglas Costa for the second goal in a 2–0 Super Cup victory over Metalurh Donetsk. This marked his third success in the Super Cup with Shakhtar. He assisted
Yevhen Seleznyov's goal in the 3–1 victory over
Hoverla Uzhhorod. He netted a late goal to earn Shakhtar three points in a 1–0 win over Kryvbas. He assisted
Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the first goal in a 4–1 victory over
Vorskla Poltava. On 23 September, he scored a goal in a 4–1
Ukrainian Cup last 32 victory against Dynamo Kyiv and was named man of the match. He assisted Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the second goal in a 2–0 victory against Metalist Kharkiv on 7 October. Fernandinho scored the second goal in a 2–1 victory against English side
Chelsea in the
Champions League group stage on 23 October, shooting low with his right foot into the bottom corner.
Manchester City in September 2013 On 6 June 2013, Fernandinho became
Manchester City's first signing of the summer, for a fee of
£34 million. He signed a four-year deal and is understood to have waived around £4 million owed to him by Shakhtar in order to complete the transfer, as he was desperate to secure a move away from the Ukrainian club. During his time at Shakhtar, the Brazilian wore the number 7 shirt, but due to midfielder
James Milner already occupying the number at City, Fernandinho had to choose another. In an interview with Manchester City, Fernandinho recalled a conversation with his son in which his son said, "My dad is the new number 25," and so Fernandinho subsequently chose 25 as his new number.
2013–14: Premier League win Fernandinho made his
Premier League debut on 19 August 2013 against
Newcastle United in a 4–0 home win. He scored his first two goals for Manchester City on 14 December 2013 against
Arsenal in a 6–3 home win and was also named man of the match after a classical display. On 1 January 2014, he scored his third goal of the season in a 2–3 away win against
Swansea City. On 2 February, Fernandinho sustained a thigh injury in training, which kept him out of action for two weeks. On 2 March, Fernandinho appeared for City in the
League Cup final against
Sunderland, where he won his first trophy in England with a 3–1 win. On 11 May, Fernandinho was part of the squad who secured the Premier League title in a 2–0 win against
West Ham United. He did not start the game, but appeared as a substitute for striker
Edin Džeko in the 69th minute.
2014–17: Positional changes and adaptation On 5 November 2014, in a
2014–15 Champions League group match against
CSKA Moscow, Fernandinho replaced
Jesús Navas at half-time with Manchester City 1–2 down at home. He was then sent off in the 70th minute for a second booking, with teammate
Yaya Touré following later, as the team lost and fell to last place in the group. On 16 August 2015, Fernandinho scored the final goal in City's 3–0 win over Chelsea. He added to his tally two weeks later, with his club's second goal in a City defeat of
Watford in the
Premier League. Fernandinho started as City beat
Liverpool in the
2016 Football League Cup Final. He scored to put City 1–0 up and then missed his penalty in the subsequent shootout after Liverpool equalised, but City still won the game. Fernandinho's role in the club became so significant that the manager,
Pep Guardiola, said: “If a team has three Fernandinhos, they would be champions. We have one, but he is fast, he is intelligent, he is strong in the air, he can play several positions. When he sees the space he will run there immediately. When you need to make a correction, you just need one player to challenge, and he is there.”
2017–22: Sustained domestic success, captaincy, and departure Fernandinho continued to play a vital role for Manchester City in the 2017–18 season, helping them win their third Premier League title, and his second. He scored three goals and provided three assists in 30 appearances for the title winners. Fernandinho also appeared in the
2018 League Cup final for City when they defeated Arsenal 3–0, however he was substituted after 52 minutes because of an injury. Following the departure of
Yaya Touré, Fernandinho began the season as Manchester City's only natural defensive midfielder. The Brazilian played a vital role in the club's demanding title race against
Liverpool, starting every Premier League match until a thigh injury prevented him from playing against
Crystal Palace and
Leicester City in December - two games that the team subsequently lost. However, Fernandinho was able to return to fitness in time for a season-defining home match against title
rivals Liverpool. He was named the Man of the Match following a highly praised performance in midfield that helped City beat their rivals 2–1. Of the performance, the
BBC Sport's
Phil McNulty wrote, "At the heart of it all was the magnificent Fernandinho - a man seemingly irreplaceable among the City's stellar cast - as he delivered a masterclass of controlled midfield play to steady his side when required." In February's EFL Cup final against Chelsea, Fernandinho picked up a muscle injury during extra time and, for the remainder of the season, struggled to remain fit.
İlkay Gündoğan took his place in City's midfield for the majority of the remaining games, which saw the team go on a 14 game winning-streak to win the Premier League title on the final day of the season. Fernandinho ended the Premier League season with one goal and three assists in 29 appearances. in 2021 With Fernandinho's age becoming an area of concern for the club, Manchester City signed
Rodri from
Atlético Madrid over the summer. Because of the new midfield acquisition, Gündogan's excellent performances as a defensive midfielder at the end of the previous season, and central defender
Vincent Kompany's departure, Guardiola planned to use Fernandinho as a back-up central defender throughout the season. An injury to first-choice centre-half
Aymeric Laporte just 4 weeks into the season, however, meant that the manager had to rely on Fernandinho to lead his defensive line. He subsequently started nearly every Premier League match following Laporte's injury, with all of his appearances for the season being in central defence. On 28 January 2020, it was announced that he had signed a one-year contract extension with the club. On 20 September 2020, Guardiola confirmed that Fernandinho was selected as the club's new captain, following the departure of
David Silva. On 25 April 2021, Fernandinho lifted his first piece of silverware as Manchester City captain. He started the League Cup final, as City won 1–0 against
Tottenham Hotspur to win the competition for the fourth year in a row. It was the 6th of Fernandinho’s career, making him the competition’s most decorated player. On 11 May 2021,
local rivals Manchester United were defeated 2–1 by Leicester City, securing City’s fifth Premier league title and seventh First Division title overall. This was Fernandinho’s fourth Premier League title and his first as captain. On 29 June 2021, Fernandinho once again signed a new one-year deal with the Citizens. On 12 February 2022, after an impressive performance against Norwich City,
Jamie Redknapp referred to Fernandinho as the “number 1 defensive midfielder the Premier League has ever seen” whilst mentioning that he thought Fernandinho was a better player than the former Arsenal and France midfielder
Patrick Vieira, former Manchester United legend
Roy Keane and former Chelsea midfielder
Claude Makélélé. On 9 March, Fernandinho made his
100th Champions League appearance in a 0–0 draw against
Sporting CP. On 12 April, Fernandinho announced that he would be leaving
Manchester City at the end of the season. Later that month, on 30 April, his stoppage-time goal in the 4–0 away victory over
Leeds United earned him the inaugural
Premier League Most Powerful Goal award, with
Opta calculating the shot's average speed at .
Return to Athletico Paranaense and retirement On 28 June 2022, Fernardinho returned to
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club
Athletico Paranaense. He started in the
2022 Copa Libertadores final, his second continental final with the team, losing 1–0 to
Flamengo. He also won his second and third
Paraná state championship titles with Athletico in 2023 and 2024. Fernandinho left Athletico at the expiry of his contract in December 2024. On 20 November 2025, he announced his retirement as a professional player. ==International career==