Edimilson Fernandes
Swiss footballer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edimilson Fernandes Ribeiro (born 15 April 1996) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder and defender for Young Boys and the Switzerland national team.[3]
|
Fernandes warming up for West Ham United in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edimilson Fernandes Ribeiro[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 15 April 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Sion, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Young Boys | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2013 | Sion | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Sion | 48 | (2) |
| 2016–2019 | West Ham United | 42 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Fiorentina (loan) | 29 | (2) |
| 2019–2025 | Mainz 05 | 91 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | → Arminia Bielefeld (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Young Boys (loan) | 14 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | → Brest (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2025– | Young Boys | 19 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Switzerland U21 | 5 | (2) |
| 2016– | Switzerland | 34 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 4 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2024 | |||
Club career
Sion
Fernandes is a youth exponent from FC Sion. He made his Swiss Super League debut on 1 June 2013 against FC Zürich in 4–2 home win. He started in the first eleven and was substituted after 53 minutes.[4] He scored his first senior goal on 1 March 2015 in a 2–2 draw at home to FC Luzern.[5] Fernandes played every minute of Sion's 2015–16 Europa League campaign before the side was knocked out by Braga in the last 32.[5] In all games, he played 65 times for Sion's first team and 41 games for the club's under-21 side.[5]
West Ham United
On 25 August 2016, Fernandes signed a four-year deal with English club West Ham United for a fee of £5 million.[6] He made his West Ham debut on 25 September 2016 in a 3–0 home defeat by Southampton, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Mark Noble.[7] On 26 October 2016, Fernandes scored his first goal for West Ham in a 2–1 win against Chelsea in the EFL Cup, winning praise from manager Slaven Bilić.[8][9]
Loan to Fiorentina
On 13 August 2018, Fernandes joined Italian side Fiorentina on a one-year loan deal with an option to buy.[10]
Mainz 05
On 3 June 2019, Fernandes joined Bundesliga side Mainz 05 on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[11][12] On 17 August 2019, he made his full debut for the club in the league season opener against SC Freiburg, starting and playing 84 minutes of a 3–0 loss while picking up a first-half yellow card.[13]
Fernandes scored his first goal for Mainz in the penultimate Bundesliga game of the 2019–2020 season. After being substituted on in the second half, he scored the third goal in Mainz's 3–1 win over Werder Bremen.[14]
Loan to Young Boys
On 15 February 2022, Fernandes moved on loan to Young Boys until the end of the season.[15]
Loan to Brest
On 30 August 2024, Fernandes signed for Ligue 1 club Brest on loan for the season, with an option for the club to make the deal permanent.[16]
Return to Young Boys
On 14 July 2025, Fernandes returned to Young Boys on a permanent basis and signed a four-year contract with the club.[17]
International career
Fernandes made his debut for the Switzerland under-21 team in March 2016 in a 1–1 draw with England. In his second game, on 2 September 2016, he scored his first international goal in a 3–0 win against Kazakhstan in Biel/Bienne.[18][19]
In November 2016, Fernandes received his first call-up to the senior Switzerland squad for a match against the Faroe Islands.[20] He made his senior debut against them, coming off the bench in the 69th minute.
In May 2019, he played in 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth.[21]
In 2021, he was called up to the national team for the 2020 UEFA European Championship, where the team created one of the main sensations of the tournament by reaching the quarter-finals.[22]
Personal life
Fernandes was born in Sion, Switzerland, to a family of Portuguese and Cape Verdean descent.[5] He is the cousin of Swiss international footballer Gelson Fernandes, Portuguese international footballer Manuel Fernandes and ex-Sunderland midfielder Cabral.[5]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 March 2026[23]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sion | 2012–13 | Swiss Super League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 29 | 3 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 8[c] | 0 | 17 | 2 | |||
| Total | 48 | 2 | 7 | 4 | — | 8 | 0 | 63 | 6 | |||
| West Ham United | 2016–17 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
| 2017–18 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Total | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 1 | ||
| Fiorentina (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 29 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| Mainz 05 | 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 91 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 1 | ||
| Arminia Bielefeld (loan) | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Young Boys (loan) | 2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| Brest (loan) | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 10[d] | 1 | 32 | 4 | |
| Young Boys | 2025-26 | Swiss Super League | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[c] | 0 | 27 | 2 | |
| Career total | 269 | 12 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 322 | 18 | ||
- Includes Swiss Cup, FA Cup, Coppa Italia, DFB-Pokal
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 18 November 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fernandes goal.[24]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 October 2019 | Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland |  Republic of Ireland | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2 | 3 June 2021 | Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland |  Liechtenstein | 7–0 | 7–0 | Friendly |
