In 2000, aged 17, Fernandes returned to the land of his father and joined FC Porto's youth system. In his first two years as a senior he only managed to appear for the reserves, his second team being Celta de Vigo B in Spain. In January 2003, the Galicians loaned Fernandes to Regionalliga Süd side SSV Jahn Regensburg, but again failed to appear officially for the main squad, returning in June to Celta and being released from contract.
PAOK
After a successful trial, Fernandes signed with Greek club PAOK FC, playing in just four Superleague games in his first two seasons combined. In 2005, the team's general manager – and former player – Giorgos Kostikos took over the team's fortunes, after coach Nikos Karageorgiou was sacked following a bad string of results. He immediately replaced ageing Kyriakos Tohouroglou in his starting XI with the Portuguese. Despite many problems both inside and outside the pitch, PAOK managed to finish in sixth place in the 2005–06 campaign, with Fernandes appearing in 27 matches as the Thessaloniki club qualified to the UEFA Cup, only to be disqualified shortly after for irregularities. He remained first-choice for the remainder of his spell.
Bochum
On 23 May 2008, after extensive negotiations, PAOK accepted an offer from VfL Bochum, who signed Fernandes for a fee of approximately €1.2 million, with the player reuniting at the German side with former teammate Marcin Mięciel. Fernandes made his Bundesliga debut on 16 August 2008, in a 0–1 away loss against Karlsruher SC. He only missed three league contests in his first season, as the North Rhine-Westphalia team retained their top division status after finishing 14th. In 2009–10, Fernandes was relegated to the bench by Philipp Heerwagen and, on 18 January 2010, he was loaned to Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C. until the end of the campaign. In the summer, he signed on loan with another Greek side, Panathinaikos FC, who retained an option to buy. In January 2011, Fernandes moved to Panserraikos FC, again on loan. He appeared sparingly as the team were relegated from the top level, and was released by Bochum in June.
Cluj / Twente
On 16 August 2011, Fernandes joined Romania's CFR Cluj. He was released after only five months, in which he played in just two games. Fernandes moved teams and countries again on 17 January 2012, signing a two-year contract with FC Twente in the Eredivisie and competing with Nikolay Mihaylov for the no.1 position. He spent the following seasons on loan, with OFI Crete FC and Panthrakikos FC.
For the second consecutive time, Fernandes' American club folded, and he signed for Norwegian Eliteserien team Lillestrøm SK on a one-year deal in January 2017. In May he failed a doping test when he tested positive for dextroamphetamine, and was frozen out of the team while his representatives appealed on the basis that the drug was prescribed medicine for his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and worthy of a medical exemption. On 1 July 2018, the 34-year-old Fernandes returned to Portuguese club footballfor the first time in 16 years, joining S.C. Farense for their upcoming season back in LigaPro. He made his debut for the Algarveans – his first professional appearance in the country – on 11 August, in a 1–0 home win over F.C. Famalicão.
International career
Fernandes won caps for Canada at under-20 level. He then changed to play for the country of his father, Portugal, and made his under-21 debut in 2006. Fernandes received his first senior call-up in November 2006, as third goalkeeper behind Ricardo and Quim. In May of the following year, he was selected for a UEFA Euro 2008qualifier against Belgium and a friendly with Kuwait, making his debut in the latter after replacing Quim in the 66th minute of a 1–1 draw. In February 2009, Fernandes played his second international match, substituting Eduardo at the hour-mark of a 1–0 win against Finland. In May 2010 he was named in the 23-man squad for that year's FIFA World Cup, but did not play in the tournament in South Africa.
