Mário Figueira Fernandes (, ; born 19 September 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back. Fernandes was born in Brazil, but is a naturalised citizen of Russia and has played for both the Brazilian and Russian national teams.

Club career

Grêmio

Fernandes joined Grêmio in March 2009, signing until 2014. A few days later, he disappeared, and Brazilian police were called in to search for him. He was found some days later in São Paulo state, after having withdrawn cash in

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

and

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

. Fernandes made his debut for the club against

Sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

on 28 June 2009. Fernandes established himself as Grêmio's first-choice right back.

CSKA Moscow

On 25 April 2012, the Grêmio president announced that a 15 million euro deal had been agreed with CSKA Moscow and Fernandes was set to join them pending a medical examination, with CSKA announcing the arrival on 4 May 2012. During the 2013–14 campaign he suffered a knee injury ruling him out for the first four months of the season. In 2015, he was a key player in the Champions League 3rd qualifying round – CSKA Moscow won the second leg against Sparta Prague 3–2. Fernandes played 90 minutes, after 64 minutes (2:2) and after a run of the mill challenge Fernandes made a simulated dive, referee Paolo Mazzoleni showed Marek Matějovský the red card. Russian daily Kommersant wrote it was "An important theatre piece". Czech newspapers claimed the play was certainly not card worthy and Fernandes lacked fair play. On 29 June 2017, Fernandes signed a new contract with CSKA, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2022. On 18 May 2022, Fernandes announced that he would be suspending his contract with CSKA following their last game of the 2021–22 season against Rostov on 21 May 2022 for personal reasons. On 11 December 2022, CSKA announced that Fernandes had decided to resume his playing career, whilst also remaining in Brazil for 2023.

Internacional

On 13 December 2022, Internacional announced the signing of Fernandes from CSKA Moscow for the 2023 season. CSKA Moscow announced the transfer as a year-long loan. In the summer of 2023 CSKA and Internacional negotiated about a transfer that would return Fernandes to CSKA, but the talks stalled due to CSKA's refusal to pay Internacional for the departed player – formally the move to Internacional was a permanent transfer, and not a loan per se.

Zenit

On 17 July 2023, Fernandes signed a one-year contract with Zenit St.Petersburg, with the option of an additional year. On 24 July 2024, Fernandes left Zenit by mutual agreement.

International career

Brazil

In 2011, Fernandes was called to the Brazil squad for the Superclásico de las Américas, which he rejected, citing personal issues. Fernandes went on to make his debut, and only appearance for Brazil in a 4–0 friendly victory against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 14 October 2014.

Russia

After acquiring Russian citizenship, he was called up to the

Russia national football team The Russia national football team () represents Russia in men's international football. It is controlled by the Russian Football Union (, ), the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home ground is the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and ...

for the friendly games in 2016, against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 31 August and

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

on 6 September. However, at that point, he had only been a CSKA Moscow player since April 2012, which meant he had not lived in Russia continuously for at least five years yet. Thus, he was not eligible to play for

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

until April 2017. On 23 March 2017, it was announced that he would make his debut for Russia on 24 March in a friendly against

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. He did not appear in that game. He made his debut for Russia on 7 October 2017 in a friendly game against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. On 11 May 2018, he was included in Russia's extended

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

squad. On 3 June 2018, he was included in the finalized World Cup squad. He played a key role in Russia's performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In the quarter finals against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, he scored an equalising goal in extra time, which sent the match to a penalty shootout. However, Russia was eliminated after losing the shootout, where he missed his penalty. On 11 May 2021, he was included in the preliminary extended 30-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. On 2 June 2021, he was included in the final squad. He played the full match in Russia's opening game against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

on 12 June 2021 as Russia lost 0–3. He started the second group game against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

but got injured and substituted in the 26th minute after landing awkwardly contesting an aerial ball. He recovered for the last group game against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

on 21 June and played a full game as Russia lost 1–4 and was eliminated. On 13 September 2021, he announced his retirement from the national team.

Personal life

Fernandes was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. Right after signing his first professional contract with Grêmio, Fernandes found it hard to adjust to a new home and fell into depression, prompting him to disappear to his uncle. The police found him in a dishevelled state nearly 700 miles away from

, hungry and exhausted. In a later interview he refused to disclose why he made no attempt to contact the club during this time, but pointed out the difficulties of settling at the beginning of a career, citing the example of

Jesús Navas Jesús Navas González (; born 21 November 1985) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right-back or Midfielder#Winger, right winger. He spent the vast majo ...

. He underwent

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

to deal with his depression, which helped his performances, but still drank heavily, regularly went out clubbing, and neglected his diet and fitness, saying "I would drink so much that I would sometimes show up drunk to training". During this time he lived alone, and in an interview admitted to "eating pizza and

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

every day", which led to action on the part of the Gremio dietitian. Fernandes had spoken with CSKA CEO Roman Babaev about the possibility of receiving Russian citizenship in 2015, before he had been called up to the Brazil squad. His talks about receiving Russian citizenship resumed in the autumn of the same year, at which point he had decided and had the full support of his family to do so. On 13 July 2016, he received Russian citizenship via presidential decree from

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, which according to him made him more determined to start for Russia in the World Cup. His younger brother, Jô, is also a footballer.Grêmio contrata atacante Jô, irmão de Mário Fernandes (Grêmio signs forward Jô, brother of Mário Fernandes)
''Globo Esporte'', 8 June 2011 As of 2017, Fernandes spoke very little Russian, but stated his intent to learn the language and the national anthem.

Career statistics

Club

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :''As of match played 30 March 2021. Russia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Fernandes goal.''

Honours

Grêmio * Campeonato Gaúcho:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

CSKA Moscow *

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16 * Russian Cup: 2012–13 * Russian Super Cup:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Zenit Saint Petersburg *

: 2023–24 * Russian Cup: 2023–24 Individual * Silver Ball: 2011 * Campeonato Gaúcho Team of the Championship:

* CSKA Fans' Player of the Year: 2018–19 *

Right back of the Year: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22

References

External links

Profile on CSKA Moscow websiteProfile on Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense websitegoal.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, Mario 1990 births Living people Footballers from São Caetano do Sul Russian men's footballers Russia men's international footballers Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian emigrants to Russia Naturalized citizens of Russia Naturalised association football players Grêmio FBPA players PFC CSKA Moscow players SC Internacional players FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Russian Premier League players Dual internationalists (men's football) Men's association football defenders Russian people of Brazilian descent 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen 21st-century Russian sportsmen