Former Manchester City’s midfielder, Fernando Luiz Roza, commonly known as Fernandinho has officially retired from professional football at age 40 after a long trophy-filled career. The 40 year old who spent nine years at the Etihad announced his retirement on Wednesday November 19 following the end of his Atletico Paranaense contract. This retirement has sparked several reactions from fans on X with most celebrating his selflessness and leadership, from funding his transfer to holding down the defense fostering key wins. He will now turn his focus to his family after over 900 career games in which he won nearly30 trophies, registering 200+ goal contributions.
“I’m already tired. I ran for thirty-something minutes and I’m exhausted. There’s nothing in football that motivates me anymore. I’ve achieved everything I 0could. Now it’s time to enjoy my family…” he said.
A true Manchester City Legend
In the nine years he spent with City, Fernandinho made a total of 383 appearances scoring 26 goals with 32 assists. Fans still reminisce on his 2022 season in which he captained an epic City team to lift the Premier League trophy. While at City, Fernandinho amassed a trophy cabinet full of silverware – 5 Premier League titles, 6 EFL Cup titles and 2 Community Shield titles.
Speaking on his retirement, City manager, Pep Guardiola, expressed his gratitude for Fernandinho’s contributions to his side, “everything we’ve done would not have been possible without Fernandinho,” he said.
In an interview, Fernandinho spoke on his time at City, saying, “When i look back, I feel really proud because everything I planned, we did here, so I can leave now in peace. To be fair, I couldn’t imagine it, to be here for such a long time, but one thing I’m sure, when I signed for City, I was sure I was given 100% win a lot of trophies. So from the first day, my intention was to win games, and to win trophies and I’ll say after this was successful and then it was normal, you know, sign another contract, and then stay for nine years.
When asked how he could describe his career he said, “I think one word I can describe is really proud because since the first day, the intention was to win trophies and then we did it, obviously the whole group, the whole team, the whole staff was involved and when I look back I feel really, really proud because everything I planned, we did here.”
He went on to describe his best time at the Etihad to be 2018 when he was in good shape as they won the league that season and the season after that – first time in 10 years they got back-to-back wins. “I Think those two seasons I was feeling really good, the team was playing very good,” he said.
Time at Atletico PR
The 40-year-old Brazilian has played 1 season at Atletico PR, a time in which he played 20 games and scored 1 goal with 2 assists. He accumulated a total of 24 shots of which 7 were on goal. He also completed an average of 85% of his passes during that time.
Speaking on his time at Atletico he said, “Returning home after many years, I was welcomed with open arms. Every time I wore the Athletico shirt, I was received with affection and respect by all the fans. I will cherish that forever.
“The time has come to pursue new paths, but I leave with the certainty that my bond with CAP will never be broken.”
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