Joelson Fernandes
Portuguese footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joelson Augusto Mendes Mango Fernandes (born 28 February 2003), or more simply Joelson, is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Primeira Liga club Gil Vicente.[1][2] Born in Guinea-Bissau, he represented Portugal's youth teams.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joelson Augusto Mendes Mango Fernandes | ||
| Date of birth | 28 February 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gil Vicente | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2020 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020 | Sporting CP | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Sporting CP B | 23 | (2) |
| 2021–2022 | → Basel (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Basel II (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Hatayspor | 65 | (3) |
| 2025– | Gil Vicente | 17 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Portugal U15 | 5 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | Portugal U16 | 8 | (1) |
| 2019 | Portugal U17 | 3 | (1) |
| 2021 | Portugal U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Portugal U19 | 10 | (1) |
| 2022 | Portugal U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2020–2025 | Portugal U21 | 6 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 February 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 00:37, 12 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Joelson's play has led to him being compared to the ex-Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.[1][3][4] He gathered the attention of several big European clubs such as RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund[5] and Arsenal.[6]
Having started training with the first squad after the COVID-19 pandemic,[7] he first figured on the bench of a Liga NOS game on 18 June 2020 against C.D. Tondela.[8]
On 31 August 2021, Joelson completed a move to Basel on a two-year-loan.[9] He joined Basel's first team during their 2021–22 season under head coach Patrick Rahmen. He played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the Cornaredo on 12 September as Basel played a 1–1 draw with Lugano.[10] However, on 2 September 2022, the loan was terminated early by mutual agreement.[11] During his loan period with the club, Joelson played a total of 28 games for Basel scoring a total of 2 goals. 18 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 3 in the Swiss Cup, 2 in the UEFA Europa Conference League and 5 were friendly games. He scored both goals during the test games.[12]
On 11 July 2023, Joelson signed for Turkish club Hatayspor on a free transfer, with Sporting keeping 50% of the player's economic rights.[13]
On 30 August 2025, following two seasons in Turkey, Joelson returned to Portugal, signing a four-year contract with Primeira Liga club Gil Vicente.[14]
International career
Through his double nationality, Joelson is eligible to play for both Portugal and Guinea-Bissau.[4]
He became an under-17 Portugal youth international in November 2019, aged only 16, in a Euro qualifier match against Albania.[15] He made his debut for Portugal U21 in September 2020.[16]
Personal life
Born in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, Joelson moved to Portugal in 2014.[4]
Joelson Fernandes' family has very close ties to both football and Sporting Portugal: his father, Mango, was part of the Sporting youth setups, before becoming a footballing agent, and Joelson's younger brother Saná was also part of the Lions academy.[4] His older brother, Ricardo, and cousin Roger Fernandes are also professional footballers.
Career statistics
- As of match played 9 November 2025[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Sporting CP B | 2020–21 | Campeonato de Portugal | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Liga 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Liga 3 | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 23 | 2 | — | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||||
| Basel (loan) | 2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Swiss Super League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| Basel II (loan) | 2021–22 | Swiss Promotion League | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Hatayspor | 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 3 | |||
| Total | 65 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 71 | 3 | ||||
| Gil Vicente | 2025–26 | Primeira Liga | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 118 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 6 | ||
- Includes Taça de Portugal, Turkish Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
