Joelson Fernandes

Born in Bissau, Joelson Fernandes has represented Portugal at every youth level from under-15 to under-21 — 36 appearances and five goals for the national youth sides, without a senior cap for either Portugal or Guinea-Bissau.

He came through the Sporting CP academy and was promoted to the first team in 2020, but never established himself there. His senior record at the club amounts to four appearances in the 2019/20 season, all from the bench, with no goals or assists. In 2020/21 and 2021/22 he did not play a competitive first-team match, though he remained in the squad and was named on UEFA's List B, which made him eligible for the 2020/21 Champions League. He was part of the squad that won the Primeira Liga and the Taça da Liga in 2020/21 and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in 2021. For Sporting B he played 23 matches in Portugal's lower divisions and scored twice.

Sporting loaned him to FC Basel for the 2021/22 season, and in 2022 he spent part of a campaign with Basel II, where he made two appearances.

He joined Hatayspor in the summer of 2023. He stayed until August 2025, making between 63 and 65 Süper Lig appearances and six in the Turkish Cup, scoring three league goals. In May 2025 he missed matches through suspension after accumulating yellow cards. He won no major trophies in Turkey.

On 30 August 2025 he returned to Portugal with Gil Vicente on a four-year contract running to 2029. The fee was €750,000, with Portuguese reports citing bonuses of €1 million for every 20 appearances. Sporting took 50 per cent of the fee, Hatayspor 10 per cent.