Rafael Fernandes, fashioned from the mould of Portugal's scenic coasts on the 28th of June 2002, finds himself in the 22nd year of existence. Despite being birthed in the land of fine wine and finer poetry, our lad is far from being a poet. Rather, he struts his stuff in the less romantic and more brutish world of professional football, donning the ominous number 28 jersey.
A libero by trade, Fernandes serves his footballing sentence with the Rangers, beyond the barricade of the old firm divide. With quite the stature, Fernandes stands tall at 6ft 2in (or 1.89m for those with an affinity for metrics). Perched atop a relatively lithe frame of 12st 8lb (equivalent to 80kg), one could argue that Fernandes is closer to being a coltish gazelle than a burly buffalo.
Whilst our chap primarily plays as a central defender for Rangers, he has also found favour with the Portugal U21 national team, where his tendentious style of play has presumably turned a sufficient number of heads.
As per the chaps at Transfermarkt Fernandes is considered to be worth approximately £850k, which given the current state of the economy, would barely get you a distressed flat in downtown Glasgow.
In terms of contractual obligations, Fernandes finds himself chained to Rangers until the 30th of June 2025, providing him with the opportunity to stage a last-minute escape, or begrudgingly sign an extension under the dim light of the eleventh hour.
The young lad's journey to Scottish shores wasn’t made overnight. His inaugural abode was Arouca, a club nestled in Portugal. Here, he timidly stepped onto the first team stage twice in the season of 2022 - 2023. And then again, more confidently in the ensuing season, making 11 appearances.
Having effected a transfer to Rangers in the season of 2024 - 2025, Fernandes has since been limited to a solitary first-team appearance. One would hope that, given time, the lad might add to this somewhat modest tally. But then again, this is football, darling. Hope often comes dripping with disdain.
