Fernando, a lifelong devotee of Athlético Madrid, was born in the working-class suburb of Fuenlabrada to Flori and José. He has an older brother named Israel and an older sister named Mari Paz, and his passion for football was inherited from his grandfather. As a young boy, Fernando joined his first football team, Parque Four, at the tender age of five, and later played for Mario's Holland, a neighborhood club, when he was just seven years old.
At the age of ten, Fernando joined the club Rayo 13, where he scored an impressive 55 goals in a single season. This remarkable feat earned him a trial with Athlético Madrid, and at the age of eleven, he joined the club in 1995. During his debut season with the senior team, Fernando suffered a broken leg, but he still managed to play for the Spain Under-16s, which won the Algarve Tournament in 2001.
Fernando's first team debut for Athlético was on May 27th, 2001, against Leganés, and just a week later, he scored his first goal against Albacete. In 2003, he was honored with being made the youngest ever captain of Athlético, at the age of nineteen. In the 2006 World Cup, Fernando scored the final goal against Ukraine and fired two past Tunisia, before converting a penalty in the 90th minute to complete his hat-trick.
Back in Spain, speculation surrounded his transfer status, and in total, Fernando scored 82 goals in 214 appearances for Athlético. It was a difficult decision for him to leave his family and friends behind, but he finally moved to Liverpool for a confirmed £20m. Despite struggling with the English language, Fernando scored within 15 minutes of his debut game against Chelsea, and his performance only improved from there.
The Liverpool fans affectionately dubbed him "El Niño," and he has since become the first ever Liverpool player to score seven times in seven consecutive games in the Premier League at Anfield. In his debut season with the club, Fernando has scored a total of 30 goals, and his incredible record has earned him the title of the best striker in the world.
