Born in Londrina, in the Brazilian state of Paraná, Fernando Luiz Roza — known universally as Fernandinho — began his senior career at Athletico Paranaense in 2002. After establishing himself in Brazil, he moved to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in 2005, where he spent eight years and collected six Ukrainian Premier League titles, four Ukrainian Cups, and the UEFA Cup in 2008–09. It was at Shakhtar that his reputation as a reliable, intelligent defensive midfielder was firmly built.
In June 2013, Manchester City signed him for around £30 million, and he went on to become one of the most decorated players in the club's history. During his nine seasons at the Etihad, Fernandinho won five Premier League titles, six EFL Cups, and an FA Cup in 2018–19, among other honours. Under Pep Guardiola from the 2016–17 season onward, he became a near-permanent fixture as the team's midfield anchor, valued for his positional discipline, ball-winning ability, and his capacity to link defence with attack through accurate passing.
A composed, defensively-minded central midfielder with strong positional awareness, Fernandinho earned 53 senior caps for Brazil between 2011 and 2019, scoring twice. He was part of the squad at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups and won the Copa América in 2019. He returned to Athletico Paranaense in 2022 before retiring from professional football.
Manchester City remains the club with which he is most closely associated, having served as a key figure through the most successful era in the club's history.