Manu Fernández (footballer, born 2001)
Spanish footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manuel "Manu" Fernández Arroyo (born 23 April 2001) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Segunda División club Cádiz.
|
Fernández with Celta C in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Fernández Arroyo | ||
| Date of birth | 23 April 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Narón, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cádiz | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Racing Ferrol | |||
| Narón | |||
| Racing Ferrol | |||
| 2016–2019 | Celta | ||
| 2018–2019 | → Racing Ferrol (loan) | ||
| 2019–2020 | Alavés | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | San Ignacio | 29 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Celta C | 41 | (4) |
| 2023–2025 | Celta B | 64 | (1) |
| 2025–2026 | Celta | 14 | (0) |
| 2026– | Cádiz | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 May 2026 | |||
Career
Born in Narón, A Coruña, Galicia,[1] Fernández represented Racing de Ferrol and Narón BP before joining the youth categories of RC Celta de Vigo in July 2016.[2]
On 11 August 2018, Fernández returned to Racing on loan, being a member of their Juvenil squad.[3] On 9 August of the following year, he moved to Deportivo Alavés on a three-year contract.[4]
Fernández was promoted to farm team Club San Ignacio ahead of the 2019–20 Tercera División season, but was mainly a backup option. On 17 February 2022, he returned to Celta to play for their C-team in Preferente de Galicia.[5]
After helping the C's in their promotion to Tercera Federación, Fernández first appeared with the reserve team RC Celta Fortuna on 2 September 2023, coming on as a late substitute for Hugo Álvarez in a 1–0 Primera Federación home win over SD Tarazona.[6] He subsequently became a regular starter for the B's, being converted into a centre-back by manager Claudio Giráldez.[7]
On 18 June 2025, Fernández renewed his contract with Celta until 2028, being promoted to the first team in La Liga and reuniting with Giráldez.[8][9] He made his professional debut on 23 August, starting in a 1–1 away draw against RCD Mallorca and becoming the third generation of players from his family to play for the first team.[10]
On 21 August 2026, Fernández signed a three-year contract with Segunda División side Cádiz CF.[11]
Personal life
Fernández comes from a family of footballers also named Manuel: his grandfather Fernández Amado was a midfielder and played for Celta in the 1970s, while his father, known as Manel, was also a midfielder and played one top tier match for Celta in 1993.[12] His younger brother Iker is also a footballer, and plays as a midfielder.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 3 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| San Ignacio | 2020–21 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Tercera Federación | 28 | 1 | — | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 29 | 1 | — | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||||
| Celta C | 2021–22 | Tercera Federación | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Tercera Federación | 28 | 4 | — | — | — | 28 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 41 | 4 | — | — | — | 41 | 4 | |||||
| Celta B | 2023–24 | Primera Federación | 32 | 0 | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Primera Federación | 32 | 1 | — | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 64 | 1 | — | — | — | 64 | 1 | |||||
| Celta | 2025–26 | La Liga | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |
| Career total | 150 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 157 | 6 | ||
- Appearances in 2024 Primera Federación play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League