I remember the day we paid £30m for him thinking what are we doing despite seeing him perform well for Shakhtar it seemed a bit high, how wrong was I and probably most in questioning the fee because the impact was immediately from the off he made the team so much better, his energy and off the ball work the sheer presence he had here was more instant than any coffee boost, he was like a cheat code made Yaya have the freedom to have arguably the greatest individual season any City player has had post takeover or in my lifetime.
From the moment he arrived we looked a lot better unit for it defensively he will forever be underrated by other clubs fans, Kante rightly gets the plaudits that Fernandinho should also receive from a worldwide perspective, players like Edgar Davids were iconic worldwide stars years ago football doesn't seem to appreciate the Fernandinho's of this world as much, maybe Davids was helped by his glasses for his global image but in my opinion Fernandinho easily surpasses his best qualities and adds more too.
He's been a very underappreciated player throughout his career in my view and for me he's the perfect all round role mode for any aspiring defensive midfielder, a truly world class one and easily Brazil's best since Dunga operated in a deeper role even if they're so different in some ways.
As a person and leader in our dressing room regardless of how well we might do without, honestly I think he'll only be behind Kompany in how missed he'll be by our players and in some ways you could say he's been our most important signing in the past decade, he's allowed Yaya Silva Kev and many more the absolute freedom to do their jobs worry free just in the knowledge he'll be there.
What a fucking servant to the club he is to us fans and a brilliant man in real life we are honoured and owe you a debt of gratitude to Fernandinho, from the moment you paid part of your own transfer fee until now your stay has been legendary, hopefully we'll get to see you return to the club in some aspect whether just learning a future management career, or a future coaching role I've got a sneaking suspicion he'll miss us and Manchester when gone, and so will his family it'll feel too much like home for his kids, if his kids take up football I think it's very safe to say he'll be back.
