| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joelson Augusto Mendes Mango Fernandes | ||
| Date of birth | (2003-02-28)28 February 2003 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gil Vicente | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2020 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020 | Sporting CP | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Sporting CP B | 23 | (2) |
| 2021–2022 | →Basel (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 2022 | →Basel II (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Hatayspor | 65 | (3) |
| 2025– | Gil Vicente | 6 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Portugal U15 | 5 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | Portugal U16 | 8 | (1) |
| 2019 | Portugal U17 | 3 | (1) |
| 2021 | Portugal U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Portugal U19 | 10 | (1) |
| 2022 | Portugal U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2020–2025 | Portugal U21 | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 00:37, 12 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 00:37, 12 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Joelson Augusto Mendes Mango Fernandes (born 28 February 2003), or more simplyJoelson, is a professionalfootballer who plays as awinger forPrimeira Liga clubGil Vicente.[1][2] Born inGuinea-Bissau, he representedPortugal's youth teams.
Joelson's play has led to him being compared to the ex-Madrid starCristiano Ronaldo.[1][3][4] He gathered the attention of several big European clubs such asRB Leipzig,Borussia Dortmund[5] andArsenal.[6]
Having started training with the first squad after theCOVID-19 pandemic,[7] he first figured on the bench of aLiga NOS game on 18 June 2020 againstC.D. Tondela.[8]
On 31 August 2021, Joelson completed a move toBasel on a two-year-loan.[9] He joined Basel's first team during their2021–22 season under head coachPatrick Rahmen. He played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in theCornaredo on 12 September as Basel played a 1–1 draw withLugano.[10] However, on 2 September 2022, the loan was terminated early by mutual agreement.[11] During his loan period with the club, Joelson played a total of 28 games for Basel scoring a total of 2 goals. 18 of these games were in theSwiss Super League, 3 in theSwiss Cup, 2 in theUEFA Europa Conference League and 5 were friendly games. He scored both goals during the test games.[12]
On 11 July 2023, Joelson signed for Turkish clubHatayspor on a free transfer, with Sporting keeping 50% of the player's economic rights.[13]
On 30 August 2025, following two seasons in Turkey, Joelson returned to Portugal, signing a four-year contract with Primeira Liga clubGil Vicente.[14]
Through his double nationality, Joelson is eligible to play for bothPortugal andGuinea-Bissau.[4]
He became anunder-17 Portugal youth international in November 2019, aged only 16, in aEuro qualifier match againstAlbania.[15] He made his debut forPortugal U21 in September 2020.[16]
Born inBissau, the capital ofGuinea-Bissau, Joelson moved toPortugal in 2014.[4]
Joelson Fernandes' family has very close ties to both football andSporting Portugal: his father, Mango, was part of the Sporting youth setups, before becoming a footballing agent, and Joelson's younger brotherSaná was also part of theLions academy.[4] His older brother,Ricardo, and cousinRoger Fernandes are also professional footballers.
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Sporting CP B | 2020–21 | Campeonato de Portugal | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Liga 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Liga 3 | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 23 | 2 | — | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||||
| Basel (loan) | 2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Swiss Super League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| Basel II (loan) | 2021–22 | Swiss Promotion League | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Hatayspor | 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 3 | |||
| Total | 65 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 71 | 3 | ||||
| Gil Vicente | 2025–26 | Primeira Liga | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 118 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 6 | ||
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