Paolo Fernandes
 Fernandes with Manchester City in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paolo Fernandes Cantin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 August 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Zaragoza, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Alanyaspor (on loan from AEK Athens) | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2013 | Zaragoza | ||
| 2013–2017 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2020 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | → NAC Breda (loan) | 33 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | → Perugia (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Castellón | 10 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Volos | 31 | (6) |
| 2022– | AEK Athens | 41 | (2) |
| 2022 | → Volos (loan) | 9 | (2) |
| 2025–2026 | → Al-Khaleej (loan) | 28 | (4) |
| 2026– | → Alanyaspor (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 May 2026 | |||
Paolo Fernandes Cantin (born 19 August 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Turkish Süper Lig club Alanyaspor, on loan from Greek Super League side AEK Athens. Mainly a left winger, he also plays as an attacking midfielder.[2]
Club career
[edit]Manchester City
[edit]Born in Zaragoza, Aragon to a Capeverdean father,[3][4] Fernandes started his career at Real Zaragoza. In 2013, aged 15, he joined Manchester City after being invited to train for the squad.[5] Zaragoza later claimed to the Royal Spanish Football Federation that the player was not allowed to join City,[6] and the English club agreed to pay a compensation fee for the move (rumoured to be € 180,000);[7] despite still training at City, he was only registered in August 2014 when he reached the age of 16.[8]
Initially assigned to the under-18 squad, Fernandes progressed through the EDS and represented the under-21s and under-23s. With the latter side he scored 11 goals in 22 appearances in the 2016–17 Premier League 2 Division 1.
Loan to NAC Breda
[edit]On 24 June 2017, Fernandes, alongside Thierry Ambrose and fellow compatriot Pablo Marí were loaned to Eredivisie side Breda.[9] He made his professional debut on 12 August, coming on as a half-time substitute for Giovanni Korte in a 1–4 away loss against Vitesse.
Fernandes scored his first professional goal on 3 December 2017, netting his team's third in a 3–1 home win against Excelsior. The following 12 July, his loan was extended for a further season,[10] but found game time limited, contributing just eight league appearances.
Loan to Perugia
[edit]On 17 July 2019, Fernandes joined Serie B side Perugia on loan for the 2019–20 season.[11] He appeared in 16 league matches overall, totalling ten starts.
Castellón
[edit]Fernandes joined Segunda División newcomers Castellón on 3 September 2020, signing a three-year contract.[12]
Volos
[edit]On 29 June 2021, Fernandes signed for Greek Super League club Volos on undisclosed contract terms.[13] On 19 September 2021, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 away win against Apollon Smyrnis.[14]
AEK Athens
[edit]On 15 September 2022, Fernandes signed a four-year contract with Greek Super League club AEK Athens, and was loaned back to Volos until the next transfer window. The signing was made official on 1 January 2023.[15]
Loans to Al-Khaleej, Alanyaspor
[edit]On 4 August 2025, Fernandes joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Khaleej on a season long loan deal. On 28 August 2026, Fernandes was once again loaned out, this time to Süper Lig club Alanyaspor on a season long loan, with an option to buy.
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 10 November 2024[2]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| NAC Breda (loan) | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||||
| Perugia (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie B | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Castellón | 2020–21 | Segunda División | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Volos | 2021–22 | Superleague Greece | 27 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 6 | ||
| 2022–23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 31 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 7 | ||||
| Volos (loan) | 2022–23 | Superleague Greece | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||
| AEK Athens | 2022–23 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 19 | 2 | |||
| 2023–24 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2024–25 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | |||
| Total | 25 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 121 | 12 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 15 | ||
Honours
[edit]AEK Athens
References
[edit]- ↑ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- 1 2 Paolo Fernandes at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ↑ Brennan, Stuart (27 June 2017). "Is Man City youngster Paolo Fernandes about to become a Dutch sensation?".
- ↑ "Criolos no Estrangeiro: Paolo Fernandes emprestado ao NAC Breda pelo Manchester City" [Criolos in the foreign lands: Paolo Fernandes loaned to NAC Breda by Manchester City] (in Portuguese). Criolo Sports. 30 July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "Un aragonés en la corte de Pep" [An Aragonese in Pep's court] (in Spanish). Heraldo de Aragón. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "Lío con el futbolista cadete Paolo Fernandes" [Trouble with cadete footballer Paolo Fernandes] (in Spanish). El Periódico de Aragón. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "Los ingresos que volaron" [The incomes that flew away] (in Spanish). El Periódico de Aragón. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "El City ya ha pagado por el cadete Paolo Fernandes" [City already paid for cadete Paolo Fernandes] (in Spanish). El Periódico de Aragón. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "Man City trio complete loan moves to NAC Breda". Goal.com. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "Paolo Fernandes blijft bij NAC" [Paolo Fernandes stays with NAC] (in Dutch). NAC Breda. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ↑ "Paolo Fernandes è biancorosso" [Paolo Fernandes is red and white]. AC Perugia Calcio (in Italian). 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ↑ "FICHAJE: Paolo Fernandes, nuevo jugador del CD Castellón" [SIGNING: Paolo Fernandes, new CD Castellón player] (in Spanish). CD Castellén. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ↑ "Φερνάντες ο… έβδομος για τον Βόλο" [Fernandes... the seventh of Volos]. www.sport-fm.gr (in Greek). 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ↑ "Απόλλων Σμύρνης - Βόλος 1-3: Πέρασαν με τριάρα από τη Ριζούπολη και έκαναν το δύο στα δύο οι Θεσσαλοί". www.sport24.gr. 19 September 2021.
- ↑ "AEK FC signs Paolo Fernandes!". aekfc.gr. Online. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
External links
[edit]
- Paolo Fernandes at Soccerway.com
- Paolo Fernandes at WorldFootball.net
- Paolo Fernandes at Soccerbase.com
- Paolo Fernandes at FBref.com
- Paolo Fernandes at BDFutbol
- Paolo Fernandes at Kicker (in German)
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Zaragoza
- Spanish people of Cape Verdean descent
- Men's association football wingers
- Men's association football midfielders
- Spanish men's footballers
- Segunda División players
- CD Castellón footballers
- Manchester City F.C. players
- Eredivisie players
- NAC Breda players
- Volos F.C. players
- AEK Athens F.C. players
- Super League Greece players
- Serie B players
- AC Perugia Calcio players
- Al-Khaleej FC players
- Saudi Pro League players
- Alanyaspor footballers
- Süper Lig players
- Spanish expatriate men's footballers
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
- Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
- Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
- Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia
- Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
- 21st-century Spanish sportsmen